The latest craze that we can't quite use yet

Video in email

If we're not talking about Google Wave or trying to analyse results of social media, we're talking about video in emails. It's not here yet and to get it to work we'll need Outlook to be able to handle it otherwise it'll only be half useful. Seeing as Outlook can't even manage a border I can't see it rendering a proper video any time soon.

The main reason why there is all of the excitement is because Goodmail is rolling out their certified video but only for AOL. Also Gmail will render the YouTube video flash object in your on-line gmail inbox but I think the sender has to be in your address book.

Alex Madison and Lisa Harmon (for Media Post's Email Insider, Tuesday August 4 2009) and in more detail the legend of Mark Brownlow (August 18, 2009) talks about it ready for it to spread into the rest of email but I'm not holding my breath.

The idea is that videos are popular on the web and even though video is not here in email yet, it will be and we should start making ready to add it in by putting videos on our web-sites, blog posts, start pod-casts etc. etc. so we're not left behind when it can get to the inbox.

We spend so much time trying to ensure we get people's attention and we make it as convenient as possible for people to take in our content, isn't video going back wards.
I have enough trouble making time to read newsletters lately, I can't get the head phones out and watch videos too. Also you can't copy and paste a video, I'll have to make notes! I often click through on Google Alerts and there is a video of a webinar or something, I won't watch it, I'm just too busy, I cannot skim-read a video but I can an article. Like the cricket - I only ever watch the highlights!

Video does have a place, of course it does but it does require a commitment to fully engage with it. We should all have sections of our business sites with some videos on and/or add them to our blogs as and when we get a good one.
Also with everything going mobile, we've generally got some earphones handy to check it on the smart phone.

We should all get geared up, have a play with it and understand what it is about so we have not got to rely on our agencies or IT depts. to use it in emails when we need to.

I don't count an animated gif as a video, it is an animated image. But if you have videos in your web-site it is a good teaser to get the click, as is the YouTube style image with the play button in the middle.

I expect Outlook will resist but we have had some success lately from the MS-Office team. There is a web-site but I can't find the link to it!

- - -
here it is thanks to the Legend of Mark Brownlow:
http://www.makeofficebetter.com/Outlook