Chris Pirillo » tutorial http://chris.pirillo.com News and Reviews! Geek, Internet Entrepreneur, Hardware Addict, Software Junkie, Book Author, Once TV Show Host, Technology Enthusiast, Shameless Self-Promoter, Tech Conference Coordinator, Early Adopter, Idea Evangelist, Tech Support Blogger, Bootstrapper, Media Personality, Technology Consultant, Thicker Quicker Picker Upper. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:35:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 © chris@pirillo.com () chris@pirillo.com() Geek, Internet Entrepreneur, Hardware Addict, Software Junkie, Book Author, Once TV Show Host, Technology Enthusiast, Shameless Self-Promoter, Tech Conference Coordinator, Early Adopter, Idea Evangelist, Tech Support Blogger, Bootstrapper, Media Personality, Technology Consultant, Thicker Quicker Picker Upper. chris@pirillo.com No no http://chris.pirillo.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpgChris Pirillohttp://chris.pirillo.com 144 144 Any Tips for Creating Video Tutorials?http://chris.pirillo.com/any-tips-for-creating-video-tutorials/ http://chris.pirillo.com/any-tips-for-creating-video-tutorials/#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2008 04:32:08 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/?p=7282 Any Tips for Creating Video Tutorials? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I know that screencasts are all the rage, and I enjoy watching them. I don’t enjoy making them myself, though. There’s something that seems so impersonal to me. Community member Firebucket sent in his list of top five tips on creating a video tutorial to pass along to all of you.

  1. If you’re going to be demonstrating how to setup and install a program that you can download from the web… NEVER show yourself downloading the program. You can give links if need be, and show yourself being on the web page. Never download while recording, though. Have them already downloaded and ready to go. Even better, install the software first. Installation wizards will bore your audience to death.
  2. Make it simple. Don’t use words that your audience won’t understand. If you have to, define it in an easy way that they can understand. For example, don’t say something like ‘Scaling your images down changes the pixel size’, say something like ‘Scaling the image down, makes the picture smaller’. You will catch more people that way and it will sound like you really know what you’re talking about.
  3. Get a microphone and explain using your voice, not Notepad or Microsoft Word. I have seen tutorial after tutorial explaining something that I really want to know. However, once the video starts, the tutorialer loses me by playing distracting music in the background and SLOWLY typing the instructions in a word processing program. This is painful for your audience. They want to be able to hear you, not constantly go back and forth between the program/feature you are demonstrating and Notepad, slowly typing up the instructions.
  4. Get proper screen capturing software. If you are willing to pay for good software, you can buy something like TechSmith’s Camtasia Studio. There are also free, open-source alternatives out there that will do a similar job. One is CamStudio. I have used this before and with their Lossless Codec, my videos were looking fantastic. CamStudio records in AVI or SWF. You can use the AVI video format to burn to a DVD to distribute to your classmates, friends, co-workers or family. Or, use the compressed SWF file type for uploading to video sharing sites or your own website. This will save you bandwidth and hard drive space. For a Mac, you can use iShowU.
  5. Make sure you put the tutorial online somewhere where it will pull in an audience. Places like YouTube and Blip are great places that people go to. They’re usually looking for something to watch because they are bored, or they need to find how to do something. You will at least get 50-100 views minimum… and maybe even a few subscribers, which can inspire you to become a regular video tutorialer.

These are some of the reasons I don’t do screencasts. In order to make good ones, you have to do it well. There are too many people not doing it well, in my opinion. Not only do the videos I record get uploaded to YouTube, they also get placed into my blog, thanks to Kat. This way, you can read the show notes. Kat will add additional information, notes and links to whatever we’re talking about in the video. I believe it gives things a more in-depth perspective to go along with what I’ve recorded live.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> Any Tips for Creating Video Tutorials? is a post from Chris Pirillo

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

I know that screencasts are all the rage, and I enjoy watching them. I don’t enjoy making them myself, though. There’s something that seems so impersonal to me. Community member Firebucket sent in his list of top five tips on creating a video tutorial to pass along to all of you.

  1. If you’re going to be demonstrating how to setup and install a program that you can download from the web… NEVER show yourself downloading the program. You can give links if need be, and show yourself being on the web page. Never download while recording, though. Have them already downloaded and ready to go. Even better, install the software first. Installation wizards will bore your audience to death.
  2. Make it simple. Don’t use words that your audience won’t understand. If you have to, define it in an easy way that they can understand. For example, don’t say something like ‘Scaling your images down changes the pixel size’, say something like ‘Scaling the image down, makes the picture smaller’. You will catch more people that way and it will sound like you really know what you’re talking about.
  3. Get a microphone and explain using your voice, not Notepad or Microsoft Word. I have seen tutorial after tutorial explaining something that I really want to know. However, once the video starts, the tutorialer loses me by playing distracting music in the background and SLOWLY typing the instructions in a word processing program. This is painful for your audience. They want to be able to hear you, not constantly go back and forth between the program/feature you are demonstrating and Notepad, slowly typing up the instructions.
  4. Get proper screen capturing software. If you are willing to pay for good software, you can buy something like TechSmith’s Camtasia Studio. There are also free, open-source alternatives out there that will do a similar job. One is CamStudio. I have used this before and with their Lossless Codec, my videos were looking fantastic. CamStudio records in AVI or SWF. You can use the AVI video format to burn to a DVD to distribute to your classmates, friends, co-workers or family. Or, use the compressed SWF file type for uploading to video sharing sites or your own website. This will save you bandwidth and hard drive space. For a Mac, you can use iShowU.
  5. Make sure you put the tutorial online somewhere where it will pull in an audience. Places like YouTube and Blip are great places that people go to. They’re usually looking for something to watch because they are bored, or they need to find how to do something. You will at least get 50-100 views minimum… and maybe even a few subscribers, which can inspire you to become a regular video tutorialer.

These are some of the reasons I don’t do screencasts. In order to make good ones, you have to do it well. There are too many people not doing it well, in my opinion. Not only do the videos I record get uploaded to YouTube, they also get placed into my blog, thanks to Kat. This way, you can read the show notes. Kat will add additional information, notes and links to whatever we’re talking about in the video. I believe it gives things a more in-depth perspective to go along with what I’ve recorded live.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/any-tips-for-creating-video-tutorials/feed/ 4 LCD Screen Brightnesshttp://chris.pirillo.com/lcd-screen-brightness/ http://chris.pirillo.com/lcd-screen-brightness/#comments Wed, 01 Aug 2007 02:23:46 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/07/31/lcd-screen-brightness/ LCD Screen Brightness is a post from Chris Pirillo

http://live.pirillo.com/ – Every day brings new viewers to our live chat. A recent visitor asked about her new laptop screen not being bright enough. She has reportedly changed her settings in the laptop control panel, with no luck. She wrote in to ask my advice, so let’s see what we can do to help Tifferz!

Every laptop brand is different in some ways from the other. They may have different hardware, they could have slightly different configurations. Just as they vary in these ways, they also can have different levels of brightness to the screen.

There are unfortunately only a couple of things you can do to adjust the brightness on your laptop. One method is discussed in this video, and again on Yahoo! Answers. Each laptop should have a small button with the letters fn. The letters on that key can vary by manufacturer. Usually you can find this button on the lower left corner of your keyboard. Pushing this button along with the one that has a picture of a small screen and an up arrow (found on the F4 key usually) simultaneously will adjust your brightness.

Another nifty little trick is to simply plug the laptop in to a power source. Many laptop screens will become a bit brighter when the machine is plugged in. If these two options fail you, make sure your video drivers are updated, and try moving the screen to a different angle.

There are several tips and tricks found right on Lockergnome.com that can help you get your LCD monitor adjusted to your comfort and convenience.

Want to embed our LCD Screen Brightness into your blog? Use this code:

Formats Available: MPEG4 Video (.mp4) , Flash Video (.flv)

]]> LCD Screen Brightness is a post from Chris Pirillo

http://live.pirillo.com/ – Every day brings new viewers to our live chat. A recent visitor asked about her new laptop screen not being bright enough. She has reportedly changed her settings in the laptop control panel, with no luck. She wrote in to ask my advice, so let’s see what we can do to help Tifferz!

Every laptop brand is different in some ways from the other. They may have different hardware, they could have slightly different configurations. Just as they vary in these ways, they also can have different levels of brightness to the screen.

There are unfortunately only a couple of things you can do to adjust the brightness on your laptop. One method is discussed in this video, and again on Yahoo! Answers. Each laptop should have a small button with the letters fn. The letters on that key can vary by manufacturer. Usually you can find this button on the lower left corner of your keyboard. Pushing this button along with the one that has a picture of a small screen and an up arrow (found on the F4 key usually) simultaneously will adjust your brightness.

Another nifty little trick is to simply plug the laptop in to a power source. Many laptop screens will become a bit brighter when the machine is plugged in. If these two options fail you, make sure your video drivers are updated, and try moving the screen to a different angle.

There are several tips and tricks found right on Lockergnome.com that can help you get your LCD monitor adjusted to your comfort and convenience.

Want to embed our LCD Screen Brightness into your blog? Use this code:

Formats Available: MPEG4 Video (.mp4) , Flash Video (.flv)

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/lcd-screen-brightness/feed/ 2 Pirillo’s Picks for 04/27/2007http://chris.pirillo.com/pirillos-picks-for-04272007/ http://chris.pirillo.com/pirillos-picks-for-04272007/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2007 08:13:33 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/04/27/pirillos-picks-for-04272007/ Pirillo’s Picks for 04/27/2007 is a post from Chris Pirillo

I send my picks to 140,000 subscribers every day – join them by sending an email to picks@lockergnome.com. If you blog and encourage others to subscribe to the list, your site will be placed in the queue to be featured in an upcoming Pirillo’s Picks!

]]> Pirillo’s Picks for 04/27/2007 is a post from Chris Pirillo

I send my picks to 140,000 subscribers every day – join them by sending an email to picks@lockergnome.com. If you blog and encourage others to subscribe to the list, your site will be placed in the queue to be featured in an upcoming Pirillo’s Picks!

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/pirillos-picks-for-04272007/feed/ 6 Help! (the Yellow Tint Video)http://chris.pirillo.com/help-the-yellow-tint-video/ http://chris.pirillo.com/help-the-yellow-tint-video/#comments Mon, 19 Feb 2007 19:21:17 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/02/19/help-the-yellow-tint-video/ Help! (the Yellow Tint Video) is a post from Chris Pirillo

Oh man, the video quality totally sucks – but at least I did it. Since I’m a YouTube Director, I can upload more than ten minutes worth of video at a time. “It” doesn’t really have a name yet, “it” was recorded this morning at 3:30am live-to-tape, and “it” is just the beginning (as I hope to record in higher definition with better screen switching soon). For now, this certainly works. Three things to note: (1) Cat Schwartz should be joining me soon, virtually; (2) Darth Vader’s floating head will be a regular feature; and (3) While the workflow isn’t perfect yet, my EyeJot widget is the best way for you submit video.

]]> Help! (the Yellow Tint Video) is a post from Chris Pirillo

Oh man, the video quality totally sucks – but at least I did it. Since I’m a YouTube Director, I can upload more than ten minutes worth of video at a time. “It” doesn’t really have a name yet, “it” was recorded this morning at 3:30am live-to-tape, and “it” is just the beginning (as I hope to record in higher definition with better screen switching soon). For now, this certainly works. Three things to note: (1) Cat Schwartz should be joining me soon, virtually; (2) Darth Vader’s floating head will be a regular feature; and (3) While the workflow isn’t perfect yet, my EyeJot widget is the best way for you submit video.

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/help-the-yellow-tint-video/feed/ 15 Free Cheat Sheetshttp://chris.pirillo.com/free-cheat-sheets/ http://chris.pirillo.com/free-cheat-sheets/#comments Mon, 29 May 2006 21:57:50 +0000 Chris http://chris.pirillo.com/2006/05/29/free-cheat-sheets/ Free Cheat Sheets is a post from Chris Pirillo

After you’ve finished watching Darth Vader Calling the Emperor, you should probably find something a bit more constructive to do. Spurred on by Sean’s linking to a couple of WordPress cheat sheets (API, Theme), I went looking for some of my favorite cheat sheet authors to see if any had been updated – or new ones added. I found a wealth of great desktop-based cheat sheets. The Cheat Sheets from ‘ILoveJackDaniels’ are simply amazing, and their design is definitely the one to beat. The Quick Reference Cards page has links to a few good ones, largely for the geekier development types. The Google Cheat Sheet PDF is a must-have, even if you already think you know your way around Google. Cheat Sheets are great when you need a one- or two-page reference (and digging through a manual or help file is just too arduous a task).

]]> Free Cheat Sheets is a post from Chris Pirillo

After you’ve finished watching Darth Vader Calling the Emperor, you should probably find something a bit more constructive to do. Spurred on by Sean’s linking to a couple of WordPress cheat sheets (API, Theme), I went looking for some of my favorite cheat sheet authors to see if any had been updated – or new ones added. I found a wealth of great desktop-based cheat sheets. The Cheat Sheets from ‘ILoveJackDaniels’ are simply amazing, and their design is definitely the one to beat. The Quick Reference Cards page has links to a few good ones, largely for the geekier development types. The Google Cheat Sheet PDF is a must-have, even if you already think you know your way around Google. Cheat Sheets are great when you need a one- or two-page reference (and digging through a manual or help file is just too arduous a task).

]]> http://chris.pirillo.com/free-cheat-sheets/feed/ 2 How to Handle Remote Tech Support <em>Using <a href="http://www.gotoassist.com/chris">GoToAssist</a> is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party. </em> chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMThttp://gotoassist.com/chris/ http://gotoassist.com/chris/ Network Tools for Windows You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. <a href="http://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome">SolarWinds ipMonitor</a>: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. <a href="http://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome">Download your free trial today</a>. Or, try their <a href="http://www.solarwinds.com/products/freetools/">totally free tools</a>! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase <a href="http://store.solarwinds.com/s.nl/sc.16/.f">ipMonitor 9.0</a>. chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMThttp://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome http://support.solarwinds.com/updates/New-Customer.cfm?ProdID=568&campaign=ipmon_DL_lockergnome&CMP=BAC-ipmonDL_lockergnome Get Your Own Web Site Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp2">GoDaddy</a> includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp2">code CP2</a> at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order. <p>Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=chris7">CHRIS7</a>, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=chris7">GoDaddy.com</a>.</p> chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMThttp://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp1 http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?isc=cp1 VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/13766/rn_a32755/">Parallels</a> or <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/17081/rn_a32755/">VMware</a> (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/17081/rn_a32755/">VMware</a> and/or <a href="http://send.onenetworkdirect.net/z/13766/rn_a32755/">Parallels</a>. chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMThttp://chris.pirillo.com/2008/02/19/parallels-or-vmware/ http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/02/19/parallels-or-vmware/ Coupons for Online Shopping <p style="color: red">This feed is fueled by Lockergnome <a href="http://www.lockergnome.com/buy/">Online Shopping and Coupon Codes</a></p> <p> Before you shop next time, see if we have <a href="http://coupons.lockergnome.com/">a coupon</a> first. </p> chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) Partner Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMThttp://coupons.lockergnome.com/ http://coupons.lockergnome.com/