The Beet caught up with Larry Walsh, editor of VARBusiness, the influential tech trade publication. We asked him if business people really have time to watch video. Moreover, is video an effective communications platform in the business-to-business world? Larry gives us an emphatic yes.
In a previous post on Beet TV, Internet visionary Esther Dyson said that the time commitment of online video will limit its growth in the workplace. Larry, however, thinks that video’s potential to add value to a previously static, flat pamphlet or presentation will make video a necessary part of an executive’s day.
Jeff Jarvis at BuzzMachine has some interesting commentary on the attention economy that Esther and Larry are addressing. The time factor online video requires is a component of the attention economy, most commonly referred to as a deficit because it seems that no one has enough attention these days to take in all the information being thrown our way. Jeff’s take on it is that it’s not an attention deficit, it’s a surplus; he says he has plenty of attention, but too much of it is wasted on irrelevant information. What Jeff really wants is a way to sort through the chaos and arrive at what is relevant to achieving his end goals.
Jeff and Larry are on the same page – if your company’s online video is relevant to your audience, then the consumer will still have the attention and will make the time to watch it. If the video adds value in some way to your audience then it has a place in your company’s business plan.
BuzzMachine, VARBusiness, Larry Walsh, Attention Economy, Online Video, Jeff Jarvis
