The evolution of the web since its inception in the 1990s is undoubtedly impressive. The early days of 56kbps modems and that all too familiar dial tone brings back memories of gaudy, flashing ad banners and the occasional unexpected (and often unwelcome) backing soundtrack on a website. Fortunately, a new breed of website was in our midst with it’s own inevitable terminology- web 2.0 Web 2.0 was undeniably a step in the right direction both in terms of web aesthetics and functionality. Alongside this we saw the cost of broadband internet connectivity drop to a level where it became the norm in most households. These elements working together gave web professionals a new freedom insofar that media types such as video that historically required an overnight download could now be embedded on a page and seamlessly blend in without too much thought about download times. From this, website video production became an industry in its own right and although still in its infancy, the innovation and creativity that‚Äôs out there is nothing short of impressive. More importantly we‚Äôre becoming more and more able to convey information in a suitable format whether it be through complex graphic, video or even streamed audio. Of course, whilst new media types convey a sense of modernity, the push forward can confidently be attributed in part to the potential for self gain. Search engines such as Google and Bing have made it more than clear that engaging visitors with creativity and well presented information is a path to a strong online presence and search engine visibility ‚Äì the end result of which is generally a robust source of revenue. Whilst videos embedded into the website is the most obvious implementation, the fact that businesses are turning to popular video file sharing platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo as a core marketing tool goes a long way in demonstrating the effectiveness of such a technique. It‚Äôs clear that moving forward there‚Äôs a lot to look forward to for both marketing and technology professionals/enthusiasts alike. If the next ten years are as innovative as the previous ten there’s certainly a few treats coming our way.
