In case you haven’t heard, people love to watch television.  More and more people are beginning to watch television online.  With services like Hulu, Boxee and other online Internet companies providing services for people to use their computers as television sets, it is becoming commonplace that everyone knows about television alternatives.  This is not more proven than YouTube.  YouTube is actually the second most visited web site on the planet, right behind Google itself which just happens to own YouTube.

I wrote the title as such because everyone likes to research a show before attending.  Not only do they want to see a web site with all of the information and schedules, and listed speakers and other pages, but they love to see what it is like before putting their hard earned money towards a ticket.  Obviously, one way for them to do research is to find out if anyone has done any interviews, any video essays, or any other information on YouTube and other video sharing sites.  This gives them an idea of what to expect at the show or event. 

The other thing that is being done is live streaming the event for non-attendees to get a taste of the action on the show floor and in the conference rooms.  This is being done more and more and I am continuing to hear from organizers and meeting planners and event planners that this is a scary proposition as it relates to giving away the cow for free.  This is a red herring.  Many know that there is nothing like a face-to-face meeting with businesses and customers and friends.  Showing the live stream only makes those that are not in attendance that much more likely to want to attend the event in the coming year.  Putting on your event and giving a taste through live streaming is a great way to give the non-attendee a melancholy feeling of wanting to attend as they see how much fun it is for all their friends and colleagues. Don’t be afraid of video.  It can make the difference and set you above your competition.

Photo via fotographix.ca

Tags: Video, Live Streaming, Photos, Conference, Conventions, Trade Shows