Monthly Archives: March 2009

Buying movie tickets online at movie tickets.com check your monthly statement afterwards.

Posted on by
Reply

I noticed a charge on my bank account recently that did not register . It was for a discount program I did not know I joined. It is that company that takes your credit card information after you purchase tickets at movie tickets.com. They say they will award you ten dollars towards the next purchase and I guess I signed up for something more then that about a year ago when I took my kids to see a movie.

They charge a monthly fee apparently and offer you discounts, to what I don’t know for in about a years time I was not offered any discounts nor did my ten dollars on my next purchase at Movies.com ever materialize.

I spoke with customer service at movies.com and the nice woman there said they get calls about this problem all the time. She even had this other company’s number at the ready to fend me off. I assured her I was rational and we chatted and she explained that she thought it was a bad program also and not worth her companies time in handling irate callers less civil then myself.

I took the number from the woman and called this other company and they gave me a full refund of all charges that hit my card monthly for about a year. They were very pleasant and why not I had loaned they money monthly for about a year, interest free.

I then tried to call movies.com corporate headquarters and was told I could speak to customer service or nobody else. I asked to speak with the CIO, I figured why not ask him why this service is even part of the online purchasing experience?

We do not give out that information I was told, and I said that’s interesting and thank you for your time. I guess they get too many calls asking for the CIO about this very thing. Hmmmmm.

Business contacts on Facebook?

Posted on by
Reply

I have to blog about this because it’s been on my mind. I have been asked by total strangers to be added to my Facebook. I want to initially but then realize wait, I don’t know this person that well, do I want them seeing goofy pictures about myself , my kids my family etc. I mean there is this notion about being transparent and genuine on the Internet in regards to your blogs, tweets, linkedIn, Facebook posts etc. Where do you draw that line in the sand? My feeling is that if it’s only a business relationship then Linked In might be a better place for those connections. I have no problems being a completely genuine buffoon online I just am not sure I need my customers and potential customers knowing about this buffoonery.

Kicking the Mogulus tires, this is what’s next.

Posted on by
Reply

I recently worked in Boston at the Hynes Convention Center on the IDC Directions show. I was part of a crew working for my Boston client attached to Ovation, a very good AV and Staging company out of Nashville. The show went very well.

I also had access to a good free wifi internet signal and I hooked up a few laptops and was able to remote control a two camera shoot using the Mogulus video platform. It is fast easy and user friendly. It may be the best tool to enter the online video world ever.

If you don’t know mogulus you will this is what’s next. http://www.mogulus.com/

To see an example click here.

Adding Video to your website

Posted on by
Reply

Lets face it, sales and marketing people are working with new budgets (ok no budgets) these days and are looking for ways to get their message to their customers and potential new customers as quickly and cheaply as possible. Enter social media and it’s ability to share the message quickly.

What kind of video do you post?

Well that depends on your company. Is it a service company or product manufacturer? Can you convey your company product or service easily in a minute or 2 or 3? Do your current customers love you? If so would you be able to get their testimonials on video?

As you already know, video is much more engaging then white papers and PDF’s that tell people about your product or service. Having a live person talk about their product or better yet about your product is much more engaging.

UGC video is also on the rise. UGC or user generated content is on the web everywhere you look. If someone has a video camera and can talk in complete sentences chances are good they have created UGC video. Many start out and fail, their first attempts are terrible. But as time goes on they learn and correct and add to their presentations. Video is booming on the internet. Don’t let early set backs stop you, keep making content and keep putting it on the web. Get feedback and tweak and tailor your message to your audience and customers.

Brilliant Video Productions assists it clients in getting well produced video content to the web effectively and on budget. We can help Sales and Marketing people with limited budgets create a one minute story about their business or product, or we can shoot the testimonials of others talking about your products.

We will also assist and consult with companies looking to provide UGC video to their audiences. We can help with video camera, microphone, lighting and editing equipment recommendations to help ensure that your UGC video gets off on solid footing.

Please see our website@ www.brilliantvideoproductions.com/video for more.

I Need to blog but what about?

Posted on by
Reply

Today’s topic is the need to blog. I need to blog. Everyone says you should blog. If you have a product should you not mention it in your blog. If you are a video producer that produces video for consumers and corporate customers should you not mention it? Is it ok to shamelessly plug your company www.brilliantvideoproductions.com if you have absolutely nothing you can think of to blog about. Are you being that guy then? I hope not, I never want to be that guy. I have been reading and learning, and attending classes and I am clearly spent on brain matter and topics to write about at the moment. So I will stop now, and go back to work editing a video for my client at the home office of brilliant video productions Inc. Hope your day was great.

Being social is informative and fun

Posted on by
Reply

I went too, two different events this past week and both were very good. The first was a panel discussion with PermissionTV in Waltham. You can never learn too much about where the video business is going and how it is evolving. I also love to learn new ideas and so I can make suggestions to current clients on how they might increase visibility on the web. Being genuine was the big message, that and that there is no sure fire formula for a video going viral. My thanks to Permission TV and the panel members for a very informative session. For more about permissionTv visit their website at www.permissiontv.com

The second group I visited with was Boston Media Makers which meets the first Sunday of every month out at Doyles in JP. This group is comprised of primarily of artists, social media agents of change, writers, designers and video production people.

There were lots of people on twitter and tweet deck and there were video introductions followed by full room introductions and 3 minutes of ( of live tweet) and Steve Garfield keeps it moving with authority and humor. The group was a blast and I made some very nice contacts and chatted. I loved the passion and energy there. Being social sharing experiences on twitter is great, doing it in person with others with the same fire and passion is Nirvana. You can find out more about boston media makers at http://bostonmediamakers.wordpress.com.

A day of Whimsy…

Posted on by
Reply

My 6 year old daughter had her birthday party today at Whimsy in Framingham. It’s a great place one part plaster fun time, one part build a bear, and one part art studio and party place for kids. The woman who owns and runs it was very nice. The kids had a great time and each kid got to stuff their own bear or animal. We also had pizza coordinated by them and a party for 12 kids was a bargain I think at about 260.00 all together. They also have a mosaic area, and a place where hids can pan for valuable treasure and rocks.

All the kids had a blast, the pizza was pretty good and all went home with a good sized self stuffed animal.

Whimsy is hard to find it’s behind Ski Market on Route 9 accross the street from Trader Joes and Ruby Tuesdays on the East bound side but definitely worth the trip.

Find them online at http://whimsyartsandcrafts.com/