WordPress TV Launches -- The Appeal of Video Continues to Expand

by Tom Johnson on Jan 18, 2009
categories: technical-writing • screencasting • wordpress

WordPress TV launched this week (go to http://WordPress.tv to view it). The concept of WordPress TV is similar to Adobe TV -- it's a multimedia site loaded with a ton of video tutorials and other video content, only WordPress TV is more user generated. Here's a video introducing WordPress TV:

On WordPress TV, the quality of the videos varies, since many of them are recorded at Wordcamps around the world. Additionally, you can recommend videos to be added. For example, you can record a video tutorial on some aspect of WordPress, post it on your blog, and then suggest the link to WordPress TV through the site's contact information. I assume the WordPress TV site managers pull in your video from wherever you're hosting it.

I am tremendously excited about WordPress TV. This is the age of video, in my opinion. The days where technical writers simply wrote manuals are diminishing. A good majority of the people find video instruction more appealing, more engaging, and more attractive than written documentation. I find that video is more fun to create as well.

I also think the predominance of user-generated content is lowering the expected professional standards of video. Like the web, users care more about relevant business content  than correct grammar (not to diminish the value of grammar, surely). But if you're struggling to learn how to fix your stylesheet to wrap text around images in your posts, do you care if the video tutorial relays the information with impeccably smooth transitions and trained voice talent? Sure it makes the video a little better. But you're mainly interested in finding the solution to your problem. If the video provides that relevancy and solves your problem, you'll forgive the unpolished voice and the lack of cool effects.