» Videos

Video: How to Fix WordPress Fatal Error Problem

Andi Putra — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:07:02 +0000

I tried to install a plugin yesterday and encounter a huge problem, which caused fatal error messages appeared in my WordPress administrator page. It’s scary. But fortunately, I was able to fix it. This video is created to help those who might be experiencing the same problem and also to remind myself how to fix it (if it ever happened again ^-^).

Hope this helps and feel free to re-tweet this.

How to Beat the Top Blogs: A Contemplation

Andi Putra — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:14:00 +0000

If you watched the Academy Awards yesterday , you’ll agree with me in saying that it’s a shocker. When you thought Avatar, the best selling movie of all time, will win the most prestigious Best Picture award, it lost. I was really disappointed and upset with the result, mostly because I’ve put a huge bet on Avatar (which I’ll never do again), and secondly, because Avatar loses to a movie with a fraction of its budget, Hurt Locker.

So, in this post, I’ll analyse some of the things that Hurt Locker did right to win the Oscar and how you can apply them to your blogging.

1. Designed For Critics

Hurt Locker knows how to position itself in the competitive film market. The director and script writer focused their efforts on getting the best acting (actor’s performance), story progression, and cinematography, elements of a movie that the critics love. And this proven formula seemed to work once again as Hurt Locker wins the Oscar.

So, study your market. You’ve to know who reads your blog (or who you want to read your blog) and what they love, so that you can create contents that are tailored for them. If your audience can relate to your writing, they’ll come back again and again to your blog, despite there are other bigger blogs out there.

2. New Perspective

How many movies have been made about the war in Iraq? Yeah, I can already recall five from the top of my head and I’m sure there’re a whole lot more. And Hurt Locker, is unfortunately one of them. But, unlike other war in Iraq movies that focused on the actions and shootings, Hurt Locker focused on building characters and the relationship between each one of them. It’s an interesting take on such an overused setting.

Sure, blogging and SEO (search engine optimization) have been dissected from almost every imaginable ways. But, some bloggers can still find sub niches within these two huge topics. You can, for example, write about blog designs, pay per click marketing, or social media. Or, rather than doing written posts (like almost every other blogs out there), you might want to publish video or audio posts. People always wants something fresh. So, if you can give it to them, you win.

3. Proud to be Small

Hurt Locker isn’t shy to be a low budget movie. In fact, one of the producers are so proud of it that he sent a letter to the Academy Awards juries, asking them to let Hurt Locker wins because of its miniscule budget.

So, never be ashamed of the size of your blog (ehem…that sure sounds awkward). There are advantages of being a small blog. For instance, you can test new ideas quickly and easily on your blog without the fear of disappointing your loyal readers.

That’s all folks. Remember to always design your contents for your target audience, try to write from new perspective, and always be proud of your blog.

Is There Money in Making Your Own Web Show?

Andi Putra — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:03:00 +0000

I recently discovered this video sharing site called Blip.tv. It’s not a new site (been online since 2005) and, at first, I thought it’s just another Youtube clone, with a slight twist to its concept. How? For one, Blip.tv doesn’t accept a one-off video. If you want to post a video to the site, make sure it’s a series of videos that can be released on a regular basis.

Interesting. But not as much as how it’s taking the video sharing and advertising concept to the next level.

When you register as a new blip.tv member, you can tick the ‘Enable Advertising On My Show’ box. This will allow blip.tv to put advertising on your show and thus let you get the 50/50 advertising revenues share that they’re offering. The ad revenue itself is calculated based on the number of views on your videos.

And it doesn’t stop there, blip.tv will also help distribute your videos to other video and social networking sites, like Youtube, AOL video, MSN video, Facebook, MySpace, iTunes and even TiVo. They will then add up the number of audience from blip.tv and all of the other sites into what they called as TPA (Total Potential Audience). So, rather than relying on one venue, such as Youtube, to build your audience, the video creator will be able to utilize multiple venues to get more views and thus obtaining higher ad revenues.

Now, if their claim that a show with 100,000 views a month can pay off someone’s rent is true. And, that someone’s rent is $600/month. That means, if you’re one of the Youtube’s reasonably famous personality, you’ll be able to earn approximately $3,000/month (500,000 views/month). And if you’re one of the top dogs, you’ll be able to earn approximately $12,000/month (500,000 views/weekly show). And, we haven’t even included the number of viewers from other sites and blip .tv itself.

So, as you can see, doing your own online show can be extremely profitable. No, you won’t be able to earn that 6 figure income. But, if you can do what you love and earn a reasonable income from it…why not do it?

Video: A Bit Old, But Awesome Google SuperBowl Ad

Andi Putra — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:05:09 +0000

This ad is a bit old (in internet terms…), but it’s still one of the best commercials I’ve seen on TV in recent years. Very subtle, yet creative use of video marketing. Notice there’s no actor involved, no big budget motion graphic designs, or technical claims. But, it’s enough to make me a Google fanboy. What do you guys think?