VideoLobby Lets You Run The Show

VideoLobby helps nonprofits, companies, media, and individuals consolidate their online video activity all in one place. You can easily create a customized and professionally-styled, live webcast in about 5 minutes according to the site. VideoLobby integrates with streaming video services like Qik, Justin.tv, Ustream and more to bring all of your video content to one central location. It also includes a bunch of features that make managing a live show as easy as running a basic blog or website.

What’s the point?

There are definitely other solutions out there that would allow you to create a page and embed all of your live video streams there. You could probably even cobble together a way to integrate comments and related status updates from your social networks. I would even wager, that there is a widget somewhere that would let you easily handle questions from viewers. The problem is that you will eventually be spending too much time tweaking your site and not enough time posting video. Also, the average person or company doesn’t have time to figure out how to do all that. VideoLobby handles all the grunt work. Set it up in just a few minutes and simply worry about creating good content.

How does it work?

To get started with VideoLobby, you will first have to set up an account on the Smibs professional network. It’s something like LinkedIn. Don’t worry, you will be automatically directed to the proper place and you won’t have to also sign up with VideoLobby. You will be signing up as a business/organization. If you’re an individual, just fill in whatever you would like here.

Once you’re all signed up, launch VideoLobby and follow the prompts to create your first show. Keep in mind that a show can contain multiple episodes, so you will probably only need to create one. Specify your show name, pick a URL, and a Twitter tag. You also have the option to enter a description and upload a logo to represent yourself.

The next step is to pick a streaming service. Your choices are Justin.tv, Qik, Ustream, and Stream API. Justin.tv comes highly recommended if you’re looking for something simple to work with. Once you’ve connected your streaming service, simply schedule your first episode and you’re good to go.

Even for someone experienced with posting video online, VideoLobby is a useful tool in cutting out most of the overhead involved. It also means you don’t have to lock yourself into any specific live streaming service. For instance, you could use Qik for your mobile broadcasts and Justin.tv when you’re actually at the computer. Check out the video overview for more. There are also video screencasts on how to create a show, create your first episode, and running a live episode.