Online video

What is online video?

It’s video that you can watch on the internet, or in some cases, video that you can download from the internet and watch later.

Some online video (not all) lets you subscribe to it, so you’re automatically notified when there’s new content. Find out more about subscribing to online video .

How to create online video

There are two basic methods for creating online video: on your computer, or directly on a website.

1. On your computer

  1. Record something using a digital video camera, webcam or cellphone camera. A webcam will record straight to your computer; you’ll need to transfer footage from your digital video camera or cellphone camera to the computer.
  2. Import the video you’ve recorded to your computer. Cellphone cameras and some digital video cameras simply pull the files in when you plug them into the computer. Other digital video cameras record onto MiniDV tape, and you need to manually playback the video into your computer using a Firewire connection .
  3. (Optional) If you want to get clever, edit it using a program like Windows Movie Maker, iMovie HD or Final Cut Pro.

How to distribute online video

There are many different ways to get your videos online. And one way to upload to almost all of them at once: Tubemogul .

Tubemogul lets you upload a single video file to these video sites:

And the list keeps growing.

Blip.tv bears a close look. It is packed with other distribution options, beyond simply putting your video on a webpage. It lets you create a video podcast feed , distributes your video to services like Twitter and Facebook , sends your video to your blog, and creates a link on social bookmarking services like Delicious .

Micro-video services

Online video is becoming more conversational with services like Seesmic , Utterli , Qik , KyteTV and 12Seconds . These services let you record short video snippets on your webcam or cellphone, and hold a conversation with others, who comment with video or text.