In order to figure out how to break away from the confines of our thinking, let's look at and understand some of the constraints of the current model for real estate video....particularly property video tours.

- Where To Start: (a.k.a "we're off to see the wizard"): Generally video involves an online journey by way of an online site other than your own to upload video. Your customers/clients/coworkers/blog buddies/etc. can upload videos someplace to bring them to you and you can do the same to upload videos for them to see.

- Limiting Factors: (a.k.a. "if I only had a brain") There seem to be two chooses as far as production of real estate video - do it yourself or go professional. But, when someone uploads a video, they generally have all of the responsibility for ensuring that the video is properly edited, copyright is managed, etc.. It's likely that budget and trainup time continue to be some of the most impactful determining factors for the level of quality for video do-it-yourselfers.

- Multiple Uploads: (a.k.a. "and the little dog too!") Managing any kind of online content in the aggregate isnt easy. Much of today's model is based on the same video being uploaded to and floating around on 5-10 different servers. 

- Video Channels and Players: (a.k.a.  "lions and tigers and bears, oh my") Uploaded video generally takes any or all of three forms on today's video sites - video watchable on a channel or other page on the the upload site, video that must e downloaded, and a player that can be cut and pasted into a varying set of online locations."Channels" are the most common way to manage a number of online videos.  Your videos may easily end up residing on sites generally dominated by someone else's brand - the same may be true with the video player or downloads that the site provides. As a customer, I may have seen your branding somewhere in there but I sure know most of the online video brands. Portability and the ability to manage video content in volume apparently has its price and that hit to the brand is less expensive than being able to manage video content witin my own domain.

- Cut And Paste Video Distribution: (a.k.a. "I want to go home") Cut and paste code does a lot to confine our thinking about video.  With it, I can distribute videos to sites that I own or with whim I am close. Maybe some of my friends will cut and paste the code into their sites too. There is the MLS as well.  But can distribution really be called "distribution" if the customer has to do all of the marketing work?  In theory, I can place the videos anywhere - think about how things work in practice though.  More random thinking along this line: if this player's cut and paste code is public, couldn't anyone could post my video anywhere they want...even to someplace that I dont want them to.  Also, how will visitors know about new video content if they've never visited before and Google has the webpage on page 5 in a competetive market.

- User Experience:  (a.k.a. "ignore the man behind the curtain")The site says television or makes parallels to TV but is the experience really like television? I guess that we should neither worry about the pauses, hiccups, and buffering of the video nor worry about the small player screen.  It's video so it must be ok even if there is 30 seconds of buffering for a two minute video, right?

- Focus and Value Add: (I'm torn between "oh, but I am a good witch" and "I'll get you, my pretty") Who benefits most from your online video? Your provider, your videographer, you, your customers or it isnt clear?  Is a new feature on a flash video player going to help you sell your client's property - what is the measurement to know? Is the focus of your provider about driving traffic to their site or to yours?

Every day, more video sites, more video players, and more video channels - all with some mix of the above. Thinking..thinking...thinking....maybe a new approach might be needed.

In Part 2, we'll rethink the above model and, while we are at it, we'll give you some actual working code that demonstrates a completely different way to think about and manage online real estate video content.

Tony