Welcome to 'The Battenberg Effect'!

A friend Facebooked me recently to suggest I revived “thebattenbergeffect”. This could, tenuously, be described as a back-handed compliment for my oft-neglected tech-blog. While choosing not to read anything into his substitution of a classic English tea-time cake for, arguably, the inventor of modern mass media, I am going to revive ‘thegutenbergeffect’ with immediate effect.

My situation has changed since I last posted. I was a cog in the wheel of the media/marketing/communications machine of a mid-sized UK-based church/charity. Some of my posts where definitely informed by the experiences and insights of that environment. Now I am a self-supporting charity worker with a UK-based organisation, living and working in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It brings a fresh set of perspective to the challenges facing charities in using new media.

The continuity between the two is my personal engagement in new media, particularly online video. As I post this I have 325 video on my talk74 YouTube channel – the most active of the four channels I post on. I’ve lost count of how many videos I’ve actually made for these and a number of other channels. While I am by no means e-famous I was amused, and perhaps a little flattered, that when UK YouTube spotlighted just one video about St George’s Day just over a week ago it was the one I made last year.

Living overseas means a greater reliance on digital media to stay connected with friends, family and financial supporters. So getting it right is not an academic exercise, it really matters. As corporate old media muscles in on the new media party and people become increasingly cynical about the authenticity of online communication there a need to keep communicating with honesty and integrity, along with generous helping of ingenuity...and perhaps a slice of Battenberg!

Optimising...but not cheating!

I'm taking a chance typing this because nothing is constant on YouTube. However, at the time of posting this worked. Watch the video below - I think it's amazing! When it gets to the end you should notice the first related video it recommends to you comes from the familiar face of talk74.



How did I achieve that? In part it was the usual dose of being in the right place and the right time, but mixed with a little thought it seems to have paid off handsomely. My response to 'Where The Hell Is Matt (2008)' is, or rather will be for a brief period around the 22nd - 3rd June 2008, the #1 Travel and Events video on YouTube, on the global list and in about every territory YouTube runs separate charts for!

I was fortunate is see 'Where The Hell Is Matt (2008)' within 12 hours of in being uploaded, and to have the time to make a response immediately. (Matt, the channel owner, was only accepting 'on topic' responses - which probably helped my cause!) My part was to title and tag my video identically to his. As my video is not just a response but an endorsement of his, asking viewers to name how many of the places he shows that they have visited, I don't see this as a cheat. It's about relevance. I'm telling the YouTube machine my video is extremely relevant to his. And YouTube seems to have listened to me!

ICE - it's why we're here

My YouTube video about ICE!

How YouTube works - drama edition

This is a 'day in the life' collection of videos that shows the community aspect of YouTube...

Act 1: Enter Oprah, carelessly

[embedding disabled by request] so you'll have to go find it!

Act 2: Renetto responds, passionately



Act 3: Talk talks, cheekily



Act 4: Community collaborates, educationally

I love online video!

Online video = YouTube!

It's really is that simple. Yes, there are other sites and services out there but nothing matches YouTube for audience. The fact it's linked to Google makes it almost incomprehensible as to why you'd host your video anywhere else. Perhaps I should point out I've not made a penny for online video - yet - but I think the community element of YouTube is a fascinating development in human interaction.

My 101st YouTube video was this: YouTube 101



This is the Unofficial YouTube Anthem from the self-proclaimed 'King of YouTube' Paul 'Renetto' Robinett.



Kevin 'Nalts' Nalty is the self-appointed 'viral-video genius'. His break came with a video titled 'Farting in Public'! But this is something sensible from him.

Being 'thematthellyer'

So, to my knowledge, there are no embarassing baby photos of me on Facebook - although doubtless that's just a matter of time. You can find evidence of my work at here. I also owe a lot to the guys at Vivid Broadcast for the opportunities they contiue to give me. And finally, my contribution to the pure art form that is online video can be found on YouTube.

This is 'One Year On The Tube' - my obviously titled compilation-celebration!