All finished with the new demo videos.  I like the audio quality compared with the last ones.  Check them out at our site, or watch them here (from uTube). Let us know if there is anything you want to see in the videos that we didn’t think to include.

Admin

Marker

Student

Last week Tom and I finished the scripts for our new screen capture videos. We elected to use my voice again and I am much happier with the way they sound this time round.  I am presently editing the screen capture videos I took of Comarker™ and stitching the audio in.  If anyone has any feedback or criticism I would be greatful to hear it before I publish the videos to our sales site.

Student Reading

Marker Reading

Admin Reading

The first version to include all of the tweaks that we have been making to COMARKER tm is up on our test server.  More importantly though, COMARKER 1.0 includes a payment module through paypal. The whole package looks pretty rad! That may be because I am so used to seeing the beta, while talking about all the features of the new version, so our users can be the judge. I’ll be making new screen-capture videos over the next few days using Camtasia, so expect to see those in a couple of weeks.  Now back to trying to break it.

We have arrived at a state of list equilibrium.  A few months ago, we made a list of benchmarks that our program had to pass before we sent invites to our beta testers.  Well, we reached the end of our list last week, and I am not the only one on our small team to remark that it felt strange. The feeling is akin to that cliche, where the novelist tries to resist the inevitability of submitting a completed manuscript to her editor, so it gathers dust in a box on the corner of the writing desk.  The awkwardness is further magnified by our need to explain the workings of the program to our testers.  Novelists have it easy, they can’t explain the inner workings of their art, or they risk looking like pompous jerks.  However, if we fail to adequately instruct our users on the various functions of COMARKER, then they may never use it.  We discussed the beta release in several meetings, but no one ever put up their hand to ask how we will tell our beta testers what to do.

In the interim, we are going to preload all of the beta accounts with test documents that explain COMARKER’s functions.  Beyond that, we will be using a slick piece of video editing software called Camtasia that will give us the power to make screen capture videos and lay down instructional voice-over tracks. These videos will be inserted into the program, for first time users to watch as they explore each of COMARKER’s functions. The crew at 37signals, once again, provides a convincing model; the first time a user signs in to their Basecamp account, they have the option to view instructional videos for the application’s many functions. When I first signed up for Basecamp, it was actually the videos that sold me on putting it to work for our company.
We have worked hard to make the COMARKER web-app easy to use, but first impressions last a long time, and hopefully our approach to online help for first time users will make for a great impression that sticks.