Video service on the web

Here's a new comment from an old post. I thought it would be worth promotion to a front page post. It's from the representative of the web video service provider with whom I recently spoke.

Sal Baglio wrote:

I read with great interest the blog discussions about Google Video/YouTube vs the Granicus Integrated Public Record. I'll let these 2 links speak to the benefit of our solution. Btw, I'm the guy who talked to Councilman White.

Here is an example of a town that archives council meetings and other content, including, believe it or not, local dodgeball games..

http://blacksburg.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2

Then click on any meeting to see the agenda, links to the video, and attached documents.

http://blacksburg.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=483

Granicus works with local governments to archive public meetings on the internet - with the benefit of having the meeting indexed to the agenda. We also provide meeting management software to assist clerks and secretaries in meeting management and minutes annotation. We are proud to say that we are the largest provider of local government meetings on the internet

The Granicus Media Manager does the automatic update to the website and also provides the technology baseline for MinutesMaker, our minutes preparation tool that clerks use to have 80% of the minutes done by the time they leave the dais. Other benefits available are closed captioning, audio/video podcasting, update subscriptions, and the ability to place other non-meeting content such as public service announcements and town events.

So you have to ask yourself “is a simple video really the best way to display a government meeting and its content?"

sal@granicus.com

If you are interested in some of our other 250 clients across 28 states, please go to

www.granicus.com/clients

Again, my goal is to increase voter awareness of what Council members do and say. In order to do that, we need a good service and a good price. I'd really like to get some feedback from you on this. Btw, Cindy Kleist has been making good use of homemade video over on her website, Underground Town Hall.

And to Sal... thanks for stopping by and giving us a primer in your service! I think it's helpful.

Tim White