By Gregory L. Casale
President & CEO
StarBak Communications, Inc.

Well, the Winter Olympics are here again, and I, for one, am thrilled. I’m a big fan of the winter games, and this time around I’m more determined than ever to watch my favorite events live, not just read about the results in the morning paper.

Since its Friday, I’m at work. But tonight, it will be NBC and the Olympic games in my house. So let’s see what the schedule looks like for today…hmm, snowboarding was at 4am this morning, missed that. Oh, Men’s US hockey team played Sweden at 7:05am--wonder how that went. Women’s Curling is live now (if I could only find a TV here in the office). Men’s Skeleton is on at 11:30am (that’s like Luge only with a greater chance of head injury). Hey, women’s hockey, great match-up at 3:05pm, Canada and Finland…sigh.

Well, tonight it’ll have to be Dancing with the Stars on ABC. That’s kind of a sport, isn’t it?

There is no longer any doubt that on the topic of on-demand vs. live television, consumers have spoken and they have voted in a landslide in favor of “when I want it, how I want it” on-demand programming. Consumers have options—on-demand movies, sports and shows through their cable box; DVRs for selecting the programs they wish to record to be watched at a time that’s convenient for them, devices that provide access to their TVs and DVRs from any web-attached PC, and iPods that allow video programs to be taken on-the-go.

The shift in viewing habits in the living room is forcing television broadcasters to think hard about how they will be able to get their messages (i.e., advertisements) across to the “consumers” of content in an on-demand world. By and large, they have been caught flat-footed, and are struggling to stay relevant as viewers discover new ways to consume content in snack-sized portions when they, not the broadcasters, decide it’s the right time.

For corporations relying on video communications to get their messages across to employees, the drumbeat of impending change should be deafening.

It’s about time. No, really. It’s about time. Enterprise video communications, like broadcast television, is a powerful communications medium. But it will no longer be acceptable to viewers to be force-fed video programming at a time and place that does not make sense for them. Therefore, a successful enterprise video communications strategy, one that has the power to improve the effectiveness of organizations, must take into account the unique characteristics of its viewers to provide as many options as possible for viewing content, while providing for the repurposing of content in ways that extend the reach over time and place.

In January, 1999, when purveyors of content delivery networks and services were eager to claim bragging rights for the largest concurrent streaming event ever held, Victoria’s Secret upped the ante with the live webcast of its Spring Fashion Show, hosted by streaming services provider Akamai. The site was swamped with over 1.5 million visitors worldwide, providing a poor viewing experience for many and leading to a well-publicized failing for all involved in promoting Internet streaming. But viewed through the rear view mirror seven years later, perhaps the biggest failing of the event was not in the technology, but in not realizing that this content, as compelling is it may be for some, didn’t really need to be streamed live at all. If the goal was to promote a particular consumer brand, wouldn’t it make more sense, in hindsight, to have provided a rich on-demand experience in which users, at whatever time of day or night that is convenient to them, in whatever time zone they might be, could access those segments of the programming that were of the greatest interest to them? Wouldn’t it make sense that as on-demand programming, the intended message would reach more people, with more impact, than a live streamed event?

The example, though obviously addressing Internet content distribution to consumers, has direct parallel in the corporate world. At StarBak, in our business of delivering video communications solutions to large enterprise, we are often confronted with organizations that cling to outdated video communications paradigms—delivering video content in a live broadcast, to a large audience of viewers that have been told when and where they will be required to view the content, and how they will view it. The quest for “bragging rights” for the largest corporate live streamed event seems alive and well, with customers striving for 20,000, 100,000, and yes, even 1.5 million simultaneous viewers in a single event. The question is not “can it be done”—with today’s technology and the right capital outlay, it surely can—but in many cases, the right question might be “should it be done?”

Let’s take the quarterly company CEO address as one of the most common examples of video communications in use in corporations today. Oftentimes, the CEO’s message is being captured from corporate headquarters, and streamed live on a particular day and time. Employees are requested (or required) to participate in the live event, either by accessing the stream from their desktop, or moving to a large auditorium to view the content as a projected image on a wall. In this case, the “broadcaster” has pre-determined the three “degrees of freedom” for the viewer—identifying the time, place and method by which the viewer will access the video message. This is the least efficient and least productive method, organizationally, for viewers to receive a message. And, just as in the world of broadcast television, it drives viewer behavior in ways that run counter to the objectives of the broadcaster. As a result, they may choose to skip the event, view the event without giving it their attention, or view it at the expense of other important work. All of these results defeat the objective of video communications: to get messages across to the audience more efficiently and more effectively than other media.

So then, which approaches to video communications are in line with the changing viewing habits of content “consumers”, and how can organizations use these changing viewing habits to their benefit?

Question Your Practices
When it comes to video communications, organizations must acknowledge that what has worked in the past will not work in the future, as viewers become accustomed to the availability of content when and where they choose. They must ask questions about the importance of delivering video content live, or on-demand, or live first supported by on-demand content.

Often CEO’s like their messages delivered live and simultaneously to all employees. But in many cases, the message can be delivered more efficiently and more effectively on-demand, or as a combination of both live and on-demand. A good test question to ask while planning a streamed event is: Which parameters of time, place and method is it necessary to be controlled? When more options are presented to viewers, the likelihood is that, over time, the message will be viewed more often, by more people, and with greater impact. Conversely, when the three parameters are highly controlled, fewer people will have access to the message, for a shorter period of time, and with less impact.

Strive to Reach an ‘Audience of One’
If your video communications strategy today is centered around one-too-many live broadcasts on a large scale, shift your view. Instead of thinking about how to reach the largest audience possible, think about how to reach one individual more effectively. Then think about replicating it hundreds or thousands of times.

How many different ways can viewers in your organizations receive video communications, and are you taking advantage of each of them? If your video delivery system today relies on the desktop computer as the viewing point, how will you address employees who aren’t at their desks? How will you reach viewers located in cafeterias, break areas, halls, lobbies and manufacturing floors? Allowing for your content to find viewers, wherever they are, is always more efficient and more productive than requiring viewers to go to the content.

Digital Signage, Enterprise TV and other ambient display systems are excellent ways to reach viewers that otherwise would not receive the message. IP-based systems, unlike those that rely on cable or satellite infrastructure, provide the advantage of being integrated with your other streaming applications, allowing content to be pushed to displays from videoconferencing devices, digital cameras or recorders.

Expand the Use of On-Demand Content
Think about the 24 hour broadcast news networks, and how very little content is actually provided live. News that is delivered live, in many cases, would not be diminished if the content were time-shifted. Obviously, when communicating information that requires immediate action on the part of the viewer, or that involves safety issues or emergency notification, live broadcasting is required and one-to-many live streaming is an excellent tool. But for most corporate communications, providing content on-demand is an alternative that is easier, less expensive and provides more reach than live streaming.

To expand the use of on-demand content in your organization, consider implementing a video portal to provide an organized repository where viewers can access your company’s on-demand programs. User authentication will allow you to control access, while integration with your LDAP directory will allow for simplified publishing and sharing of content across the organization.

Take Advantage of the “Democratization” of Video
If, in your organization, video communications is a tool used by few to communicate with many, you may be missing the most powerful ability of video to change the way work is done. In the consumer world, video is being “democratized” like never before. Websites such as those provided by Revver, Youtube, and others are fueling the growth of vast content exchanges where users publish, share and in many cases monetize their video assets. Podcasting (video and audio streams downloadable to handheld devices such as the Apple iPod) and Vlogging (video blogging) are quickly being adopted in the corporate environment as a means for professionals to communicate with rich media.

As never before, inexpensive tools are available that allow anyone to simply and easily create video messages to be shared with others. In the enterprise, simply adding a videoconferencing recorder allows anyone in the organization to use an IP-based videoconferencing system as a video publishing studio. Similarly, a digital camcorder attached to a video encoding device allows anyone to record and stream a video program. When the power to record and share video messages is put in the hands of knowledge workers, the result can transform organizations.

Summary
In the home, viewers are taking advantage of technology to time-shift television programming, allowing them to watch what they want, when and where they want. This has lessons for corporations that have embraced video communications as a means of delivering messages more efficiently and more effectively to viewers. By continuing to control the time, place and method for viewers to access video content, we run the risk of proceeding on a path that will, over time, serve to disengage our viewing audience, and hinder the growth of video communications.

Organizations should examine their video communications practices, and strive for ways to increase the flexibility of time, place and method available to employees that make up the viewing audience. Rather than seek to reach the largest audience, organizations should seek to reach an audience of one, providing as many options as possible for viewing the content. Increasing the use of on-demand content, versus live streaming events, serves to increase the reachable audience and viewing times, while improving the effectiveness of the message. Finally, taking advantage of technologies that are driving the “democratization” of video, allowing anyone in an organization to simply and easily publish and share video content, allows the power of video to be fully realized across an organization.