How can Our Website Help you Make Better Video?

How May We Best Serve You?

Since 1986, Videomaker has cultivated a community of people interested in making better video. This community includes those who create video and marketers who want to reach video creators. For the longest time, our print magazine was the preferred medium to foster our community. We launched our events in 1994, but even our largest event has no more than 2,500 people. We have offered DVDs for many years, but these numbers also pale in comparison to the magazine. Web readership has grown steadily since 1994, but it increased dramatically during 2006 and 2007.

As you may know, marketers who want to reach video creators are fundamental to our community. Without their companies, there are no products. Without their advertising dollars, the magazine subscription price would be more than most readers would like to pay. While advertisers are incredibly important, they can not become so important that they influence our Editorial staff. We are constantly accused and also congratulated. Each month some advertiser accuses us of not providing enough coverage of its products, while readers accuse us of pandering to advertisers. This finger-pointing has gone on since publishing began, yet each month we strive to strike a balance between those who create video and those who want to reach them.

Something dramatic happened in 2006-07 with marketers who want to reach video creators. They suddenly decided to invest more of their advertising budget to reach our community via the internet. During this period, advertising investments increased sixfold. Clearly the market is telling us something, and we are listening.

My grandfather didn't own a paper mill. I have no personal affinity for paper. My devotion is to serve our video-producing community. We have been investing more and more into our website. Newest is our social network: the Videomaker Lounge. Since Videomaker's launch in 1986, we have served our community with an array of media. We launched instructional videos in 1991. In 1993, the Videomaker TV Show was broadcast on the USA cable network. We've offered How-To internet videos from our own server, and now we're posting some video on sites like YouTube. We do face-to-face events, from small intensive workshops to our 2,000-plus Videomaker Expos. We launched the digital edition of Videomaker Magazine in 2005, which became a big hit with members of the Videomaker community outside the USA, as they get the magazine via the internet faster and at a lower price.

We are devoted to our mission of helping people make better video. I'd like to know which medium works best for you. The paper magazine? Or the website? Why? Please send your comments to editor@videomaker.com.

Matthew York is Videomaker's Publisher/Editor…