I’ve found that getting review products that apply to vlogging is a bit tougher than review products for daily life/mommy blogging. However, I do use office supplies for video blogging - paper for outlines, pens/pencils to jot down points, a desk, chair, speakers, sticky notes [great for sticking notes to front of camera], cords, headphones [so I can edit when my kids are in the room], and lots more!

When I was approached by AllModern.com I figured that there would be something applicable in their 200+ stores because they do have office products. Sadly they do not have camcorders. Right now they are featuring the Le Creuset Cookware; if you like bright colors check it out!

I’ll let you know what I pick!

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I’m pleased to announce that during my live show Friday at 2pm EST on May 28,2010 I will have 3 things to giveaway.

BioGaia Probiotic Straws
They help your children stay healthy so you have more time to make a video.

Zippity Doos Hair Products – all natural hair products that repel lice and work well.
They help your children look nice for their videos and make sure you don’t have to spend time taking care of lice.

Build-a-Bear $10 Gift Card – a way to spend time with your children and give them something to do later while you make or edit a video.

P.S. I’m working on the video reviews but having technical difficulties – which is a nicer way of saying that I’m frustrated out of my mind!

I was sitting in the condo across from the Opryland where the Blissdom Conference would start the next day. The laptop was open, but the signal was sketchy and slow. I wanted to get my first digital product available for sale, but I was frustrated.

I connected with Staci, who is a virtual administrative assistant, and felt like I just won the grand prize. She was available when I needed her and responded quickly to my cries for help. She not only set up the shopping cart program that I needed; she gave me information. That’s important to me.

I’ve often heard online business women say that outsourcing is the key. I’d nod my head as I thought, “I can’t afford to pay someone else.” After my experience with Staci I’m definitely considering it. Some times you have to spend money to make money.

Tonight I’m trying out BubbleTweet.  I prepared a short video saying hello then went to BubbleTweet.com.

Once there all I had to do was type in my twitter name and upload my short video.  I waited less than a minute and it gave me this url.

There is a follow button under my profile information on my bubble tweet page.  It’s right above the big advertisements that are not pretty at all.

For some reason I had the impression that the bubble would pop up whenever someone visited my Twitter profile.  Now it doesn’t seem like that happens.  I’m guessing the point is to share video tweets.  Considering how easy it was I might do it more often.

My favorite part of the whole process is the sound of the bubble popping.

Tip: Make sure you are centered in your video because the Bubble Tweet crops the video into a circle.

Let me know if you try it out – or have made one before.  What do you think of it?

When I first started vlogging I tried to find sites with tips and instructions. Most of the sites were, frankly, way over my head. I needed basic information – not technical gobbeldy-gook. One of the few video people I found that made it simple enough for me to understand was AskMrVideo, aka Perry Lawrence.

He recently released an ebook titled 25 Top Tips For Video Marketing, and I wanted to read it. To be totally truthful I have bought less than 5 ebooks in my 3 years online. There is so much free information and so little money!

I read his email the first day. Told my husband about it the next day. Since I was still thinking about it the 3rd day I went ahead and bought it. Seven dollars isn’t very much and I knew that it would be good, easy to implement tips, presented in a way I could understand.

I’ve skimmed through it, and wanted to tell you about it. Now I need to read it slower and practice the tips. If you want to learn more about it visit AskMrVideo. I think it’s worth the $7.00.

It’s amazing to me how much the genre of online video has exploded recently. The fact of how much change there has been was made clearer when I was reading Secrets of Videoblogging by Michael Verdi and Ryanne Hodson. 

It’s a book meant to teach the very basics of how to make and get a video online. ÂUnfortunately many of the basics have changed since it was put out in 2006. Ninety percent of the mentioned websites were not there when I tried to look them up.  That’s not a good thing since the authors constantly refer to online videos and sites.  I felt like I needed to read it in front of the computer.

My favorite quote from this book is:

“Remember, you want videoblogging to become a part of your life, not your entire life.”

Yes, it has some helpful ideas.  No, it’s not worth the purchase price.  If you want to check it out I recommend getting it through a library.  That’s where I found this copy.

There are thousand of free WordPress Themes, but only a handful of free ones that support and showcase video. The ones that are free are a little bit scary. Once I found Press75 [affiliate link]  I was hooked. ÂThey are not free, but I think they are worth the price.  Plus, you can enter the code SEC25 and get the second theme for $25.

The $75 that you pay for the first theme includes all future upgrades. Nice! After you buy a theme you can register for the forum and get all kinds of information plus answers right from Jason, the theme designer.

I need to tell you that I did have a bit of a learning curve. I’ve been using a free WordPress theme for 2 years, so I know my way around and can even make some simple changes in CSS. I hired a designer to help me with this site. Partly because I’m scared I’ll mess it up, and partly because it’s set up different then I’m familiar with.

When I first tried to add content I just put it in like I would in my other blog and it showed up in weird places. Then I uploaded the recommended plug-ins and closely followed the instructions. Now, as you can see, the content is where it should be.

Even so, I’m glad that I got this theme from Press75.