Video seems to have existed for a long time, decades even. Why then, is it causing such consequential changes now? The 21st century has so far proven itself to be the fastest-paced time in human history. This change has prompted conventional industries and organizations to shed their old practices and embrace the digital current. A key aspect of this sweeping current is the refinement and accessibility of video, and its overwhelming presence online. The “viral video” is a key component in the Internet space, and has amassed so much esteem and regard, that it has allowed average individuals to cross over and be showcased in mainstream media. Viral videos usually make an appearance on the main broadcasting channels or on shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The power and scope of video is not limited to viral pieces alone. Entertainment and humor from short clips online, videos have extended to impact every aspect of the physical world from business, current affairs, and education. A single, powerful device has found decades’ worth of practices and assumptions to uproot and revolutionize. A prime example is the mannequin challenge, were people freeze in action for about one min. It all started as a college challenge, filmed on a smartphone and shared on Facebook.
Businesses
Businesses have undoubtedly experienced the most positive change with the dominance of video. Videos are now widely used to market products and services that businesses may have to offer. This form of marketing has proven to be more concentrated and effective, and each video is a result of high-end production value and laser-like focus on a target audience’s consumption and response patterns.
With the popularity of social networking platforms and the sheer amounts of site traffic, businesses have taken to video to trace online patterns and usage to target advertisements accordingly. This makes for marketing campaigns to be far more lucrative in that they reach the intended audience at optimal times. Video production and video marketing services are encouraging businesses in all fields to use video to attract customers and to reach a new level of engagement.
A teenager scrolling through Facebook with a particular bias towards beauty will have makeup advertisements come across as an endorsed video of a particular brand. Likewise, if any user’s online preferences and behavior lean towards software and technology, they are more likely to find a few marketing videos related to the subject during their usual scrolling.
Video is increasingly used in presentations and orientations, to better accustom fresher recruits with business models and practices. A short 5- minute video outlining the core philosophy of a business has a better chance at engaging investors. The online fundraising website, Kickstarter, requires pitchers to publish a video alongside their business model which details their entire product at length. This specific video alone has the power to make or break potential investment deals, and startups often allow a lot of time and attention to go into making this short video exceptional.
Video calling and conference calls are slowly becoming somewhat of a norm. Businesses have found video to be an ever-helpful alternative. Not only are calls easy to arrange and connect, but they can be carried out on short notice and dramatically reduce the costs that usually go into long-winded business trips.
Video is also increasingly used by businesses in training initiatives and programs. This practice stems from the vast amounts of scientific evidence available that proves how learning and retention is linked with visual and sound aid.
Education
Statistics, numbers, and information are better processed via visuals. 40% of the brain’s nerve fibers are connected to the retina, which makes the brain’s ability to process visuals much more efficient than computing text. This is the reason why video is assuming a more dominant position in modern education and teaching processes.
According to the Visual Teaching Alliance, visuals are processed up to 60,000 times faster than plain text. This has greatly impacted the way teachers approach their jobs, and has allowed a number of companies to invest in the market of providing educational material that supports visual-aid.
Providing visual aid does not only translate into a positive increase in scores, averages, and performance values; the key here is retention and comprehension, and how researchers have discovered that visuals and video improve learning by 400%. Schools and colleges are now reinforcing video in curriculums and courses, to make teaching programs more efficient. The end result is a more competent, able, and lucrative job force, that is able to approach various areas of business with fresh perspectives and ideas. Video is quite literally aiding the development of a smarter, more skilled workforce for future generations. This has vastly changed career dynamics and competitiveness, as well as opened up new careers and professions.
The reach and influence of video is only expected to expand in the coming years. Educational institutions all across the world have begun to replace conventional paper-bound textbooks with iPads containing downloadable texts that feature a number of videos. For subjects such as History and Science where greater retention is required these videos prove themselves to be extremely efficient.
Careers
People can now form functioning careers out of video. The second-most popular website globally, YouTube, is a video sharing network that features a considerably substantial amount of online content creators and entrepreneurs.
These “YouTubers” have managed to gather millions of devoted followers, and content creation has become nothing short of a highly successful career for many of them. These individuals earn a considerate amount yearly by simply creating engaging and thought provoking content with paid endorsements and advertisements. Majority of these online personas go on to star in movies and series, become best-selling authors, and go on world tours. Video has opened platforms that seemed impossible before.
There are a number of Internet celebrities that started off with uploading shaky footage, and have now catapulted into mainstream media platforms. Comedian Bo Burnham began his career 10 years ago in his room, where he recorded himself singing his own pieces. Today, the 27 year old has two specials on Netflix, and has been able to tour and perform stand-up comedy on live television shows.
Leading online sites such as BuzzFeed and NowThis offer 30-second videos to viewers that cover a range of topics. Anything between politics, current affairs, style, and technology trends are covered via short, informative videos. These have become nothing short of the evening news bulletin for much of the online crowd today.
As this year comes to a close, one can only help but marvel at the revolutionary leaps and bounds video has taken recently. What began as an innocent medium to share engaging content and media, has now transformed into something of a business essential, a corporate tool, and a socio-political rallying-point. Though video is still overwhelmingly used for various purposes, a sizable chunk of leading businesses and social institutions have discovered that video may be an excellent tool to engage, market, relay, and educate.
