The power of video to convey a message far more effectively than simple images and text has long been appreciated and understood. Hit Web sites such as YouTube have powerfully demonstrated the ability of video to move, empower and embrace us. Yet business networking Web sites have long missed the possibilities that adding video can offer to their users.
http://www.GlobalBusinessNetworking.com has broken this mould by enabling members to upload videos to their private and public member profiles. "If a picture can paint a thousand words, imagine the impact of full-motion video on someone viewing your member profile," comments Paul Allen, sales manager at Media4G, the company behind the Web site. "One of the banes of online networking has always been the inability to see a contact face-to-face, to see the real person behind the words. Now you can do that in an effective and efficient business networking setting."
The company has chosen to use Microsoft's new Silverlight technology to implement video playback on the Web site. "After looking through the currently available technologies for video playback we settled on Silverlight. Its small plug-in size, support from Microsoft, cross-browser and cross-platform compatibility meant it was a natural choice. Plus there is always the 'wow' factor of developing and implementing a new technology to a Web site," explained Allen.
"We've found that making that basic human connection of being able to look into another's eyes helps the networking experience immensely. You gain a sense of who you're dealing with, rather than simply a person on the end of an email conversation. This helps in establishing a common ground as well as facilitating more effective communication,"
The company has big plans for implementing video across the rest of the Web site. "The site is all about business networking, making connections and enhancing your business experience. We believe several areas of http://www.GlobalBusinessNetworking.com, such as Recruitment, Buyers & Sellers and News & Events will all benefit from the ability to add a video message when we roll out this technology across the rest of the site," commented Allen. "Imagine for a moment that you're looking to be hired, you could place a personal message to potential recruiters within with your CV. Or perhaps you have a startling new product; you can upload a video of the product to the site for other members to access quickly and easily. Research has shown that video has far more of an impact than text and graphics alone, and we aim to help our members take advantage of that."
