Rich Content and Third-Party Services

Many of the websites we help create include an element of so-called "rich media," this being audio or video. Most people with this type of content can envision how they want it presented to users but the back-end how-to options are still a little fuzzy. Let's clear up our choices for cost, work flow, and distribution. These factors overlap, and remind us that we can't have our cake and eat it too... unless of course you want to pay for two cakes.

Work Flow

One of the most important aspects of creating a solution is that you need to feel comfortable using it on an ongoing basis. Even before it gets to users it has to come from you and your team. Should your team upload the content directly to your site? (Meaning you will shoulder the costs of creating an easy to use upload and administration system) Should you rely on a third party to host your content and use you site as a distribution platform? Will your team/users be more likely to upload content to http://www.podcastalley.com or http://www.youtube.com and run the feeds or embeds through your site or do you want all things to be centered on your domain?

Costs

You can see how the issue of cost is directly tied to the work flow. It's definitely cheaper to run though a third party in terms of development costs, but also for ongoing hosting costs. Depending on user base, serving audio and video can climb into the thousands of dollars a month. Sometimes a great hosted solution can have a small monthly fee and take care of your needs until it's time to develop your own custom solution. So, should you host your files? You can also use middle ground third-party options to white label the rich media. You'll pay to appear as the host and platform, but you won't have to deal with the headaches. Should you build a user interface to view, sort, edit and delete your content? Are there services out there that offer exactly what you're looking for?

Distribution

It's easy to forget that 9 times out of ten your site won't be the only method of distribution. If you want a larger foot print your goal should be to expand this as far as possible. That means you become a hub and a marketing control point, but not the end-all-be-all destination for your content. If you have a podcast, you should be on itunes or at least have an itunes compatible feed for your podcast. This will allow a larger portion of the market to tune in. Push your podcast though http://www.odea.com, post your videos to http://www.current.tv, not to mention allowing personal embeds to the vast array of blogs and profiles. If you're using third party solutions, you'll often be included in their directories automatically. So, there's a start. The term used for the internet --web-- reminds us of how to distribute content. It's not the old pipeline model of television. Ask yourself how will my users FIND this content beyond just my site? How can they VIEW my content beyond my site? What are the various platforms for my type of media: software, websites, feeds, devices, etc?

It's nearly impossible to separate these factors in deciding how to implement your online media solution. Keep in mind where you're starting from. If you're leaping online with content for the first time, take the chance to play with your options before diving into totally custom systems.

If you are a CONTENT CREATOR then you should be USING TECHNOLOGY not DEVELOPING it. Leverage the platforms that are out there to your advantage, that's why they were created. If you are a PLATFORM then let's build you a SOLUTION THAT INTEGRATES with the rest of the web. We can give users the tools to distribute their content wider or with more editorial control.