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High Impact Video - With a 5-Pound Sledge

Video is a great way to tell a story. The combination of visual and audio elements can have a great effect on the viewer. I believe the more entertaining the video is, the more impact it will have and the more it will be remembered. Videos can be very effective, even if you’re reaching out to a niche market. A great example of using video to reach out is “Wilsonart Flooring and Charlie the Cheapskate” by Spike and Dave.

Spike tells the story: “I have been in the flooring business since 1993 and Dave (the salesman in the video) has been in flooring since 2000. Both of us attended the Wilsonart Training in Temple, Texas a few years ago, since then we have pushed to sell Wilsonart because of the quality and the difference between HPL (High-Pressure Laminate) & DPL (Direct-Pressure Laminate)[flooring]. We were asked … to come up with something that would show how we sell the Wilsonart Flooring.”

How the two sell flooring is apparent throughout the short video. They talk about low price versus value, especially considering how HPL resists stains, spills and damage. They even go so far as to drop a sledge hammer head onto a piece of HPL laminate flooring. According to Spike, this is something they really do, “When customers come into our store we use the sledgehammer as a visual to show the impact resistance of the [Wilsonart] floor.”

From a marketing perspective, the video incorporates important elements of a successful video, including the “Call to Action” at the end to visit Wilsonart Flooring’s web site. It’s all done in a short, to-the-point, but very entertaining segment. “As an advertising manager, I think it's important to have something that people don't forget... so we created 'Charlie the Cheapskate', a story of a man that would shop around at the Big Box stores to get the cheapest price on flooring, until he was educated from a professional, on why one floor is cheap and another is not,” said Spike. I believe he did it right as the video he created could be used as a training tool for sales people as well as a spot to educate customers the difference between different kinds of laminate flooring.

Check out the video and see for yourself. Does it give you ideas how to use video in your business either as a training or promotion tool?

Video credit: spikegilley

Four Steps to Better Passwords

Many people glaze over when the subject of passwords comes up. I think it's because us IT folks tend to make things seem a lot more complicated than need be. Here are 4 easy steps to help you create better passwords to protect your personal information:

1. Make Your Passwords Longer

The concept is simple: The longer a password is the harder it is to crack. In practice, though, this can be intimidating. Instead of thinking of a long password, try to come up with a long passphrase. Something like "thequickbrownfoxjumpedoverthelazydog" is magnitudes more difficult to crack than "texasfootball."

2. Make Your Passwords More Complex

Length alone, though, isn't enough. Passwords should also be complex. By using mixed-case letters, numbers and special characters you increase the possible number choices a cracker will have to try before guessing correctly. "TexasFootball1234%" is much more time-consuming to crack than "texasfootball12345."

To help make your passwords complex, try coming up with a phrase which will be easy for you to remember, but hard for someone to guess. Try something like one of these:

• IW@sB0rnInTexas
• W@sIB0rnInT3x@s?
• W@s1B0rn@t@LL?
• B@n@nnaGu@c@m0le!

(In the above examples, the zero substitutes for "o")

At first, it might be harder to type something like the examples above, but after a few times you'll get used to it and it will seem like second nature.

3. Make Your Passwords Diverse

Having the same password for every web site and/or system you use is not the best way to go, security-wise. If someone were to get your email password, would you want them to be able to get into your online banking system, too? This is where things can get very complicated unless you have a system. Try implementing a pattern where you change a part of your passphrase for each web site. Perhaps something like this:

• For Gmail: GM_B@n@nn@Gu@c@m0le!
• For Hotmail: HO_B@n@nn@Gu@c@m0le!
• For Twitter: TI_B@n@nn@Gu@c@m0le!
• For you bank: BofA_B@n@nn@Gu@c@m0le!

The key is to make it complex, yet easy to remember. With a little imagination you can come up with something which works for you.

4. Change Your Passwords Periodically

Most corporate systems require periodic password changes. Most public systems, though, do not. Just because a system doesn't require password changes, it doesn't mean you can't (or shouldn't) change every so often. Regular changes help increase your overall security stance which will help keep your personal information safe. This is another area where a pattern can come in handy. Perhaps you can use titles of your favorite songs when you change. Something like this:

• January: Sult@ns0fSw1ng
• April: M0t0rC1tyM@dh0use
• July: NutbushC1tyL1m1ts
• October: Sp1r1t0fTheR@d10

If you combine this pattern of changing with the pattern of diversity, you have a pretty good combination of diversity and longevity.

If you have any methods for making complex passwords work for you, please feel free to share them. Just don't post your real passwords here, you never know who's watching ...

Photo credit: mikebaird