Use Google Glass to Create Enterprise Video: Here's How
After you install Miro, configure this podcast by choosing Sidebar > Add Podcast and pasting in an RSS feed URL from the YouTube API. The URL looks like this: https://gdata.youtube.com/ feeds/api/users/hI3XJ-Jg2XXXXXXXXXX Vefw/uploads?alt=rss
The boldfaced part above is the specific user name retrieved from YouTube, redacted for privacy. To get this unique ID for your user, go to https://www.youtube.com/account_advanced for your unique ID for your user and channel. Copy the User ID and replace it in the URL above. That is your podcast URL.
When you have the podcast created, Miro polls YouTube periodically and pulls the videos down to your server. There are some useful settings in Miro that work well as shown in Figure 6. It is also important to set the toggle button at the bottom to “Auto-Download New” to ensure anything new is copied from YouTube to your corporate file server.
Figure 6. Recommended Miro settings, including “Auto-Download New” toggled to “on."
Google Drive
Setting up Google Drive is straightforward. The only consideration is you probably do not want to sync all of the files down to your corporate server, so go into the preferences and select “Only sync some folders to this computer” and sync the same folder you configured for Vodo.
Media Server
Because there are a number of media CMSs, I won’t go into the exact settings here, but you should set up the automatic import feature on your system to poll for new files in the same folder that your Glass videos are directed to and import them. Most media servers allow this type of batch mode processing. The advantage is that the end user, the person who is recording the video with Glass, does not have to spend time to learn how to get the video published into your corporate media catalog. Using Mediasite server, I set up an auto-import job that runs every 15 minutes and looks for new videos. When it finds one (from Miro import via YouTube or in the Google Drive folder) it imports it and puts it into a holding folder. From there, the user can move it to appear in a catalog or portal that is set up for your enterprise. There are a lot of variables here depending on the system, but the principle is the same.
Best Practices
Making great enterprise video with Glass involves more than just getting the video from the device to your corporate video CMS. These tips can help you get great content.
Speak up, and ask those you are recording to speak up, because the microphone in Glass is optimized for the wearer, so voices may be faint, especially if there is background noise.
The idea of this kind of video is immediacy and authenticity, not so-called “production value,” so don’t worry too much about framing, lighting or minor slip-ups. Of course, the quieter and better lit the environment, the better the end result will be.
Glass sees things from your point of view, so don’t forget that it is on your head. In an interview situation just do your thing and Glass will do its thing. Glass makes the camera and the anxiety that comes with it disappear.
As with most “on location” videos, you don’t want to record too long. Keep it under 5 minutes and you employees will be more likely to watch.
By default, Glass only records video for 10 seconds unless you press the top button to extend the recording. My advice is to start recording, press the button carefully to avoid camera shake and then begin your introduction.
For the most instant and immediate publishing you should plan to avoid editing. It’s a roadblock! Plan your shoot, walk through it in your head, or even make a simple storyboard beforehand.
Be ready to speak your title/intro and go!
Glass’s battery is a weak point, and for continuous video it lasts only about 45 minutes. If you are out and about, make sure you bring your charging cable or an external battery pack, or wait for some battery extenders like the GAZERglass or PWRglass, both of which are being developed now.
Ideas for Using Glass in the Enterprise
Equipping your employees with Glass and setting it up to publish automatically to your enterprise servers can empower anyone in your organization to make and publish video content. They can communicate in a more engaging format and present subjects in a new light. Use an interview to introduce new employees to the company or spotlight someone or a team who is working on an inspiring project. If your company is spread out like mine, make office and campus tours to familiarize everyone with the locations and the local culture. Another good use is hands-on . This is especially useful for workers who need to use both hands, like mechanics, assembly workers, and food preparers. Finally, you can take Glass to your next event and post updates of the proceedings to all who could not attend.
Final Thoughts
While automatically moving Glass video from the device to a place where it can be seen takes some simple setup, the tools to accomplish it are free and freely available.
However, the most efficient, flexible and secure method would be use a Glass app to send the video directly from the device to a private, password-protected FTP server that is available on the public internet. In Glass you could “Share with FTP,” and the app would log in to the FTP server and deposit the file there. Then your media CMS could be pointed to the same FTP server to import the files.
However, there is not a tool at this time that can do that. I looked at several other promising options that are based on consumer web services. Tools like CloudWork, If This Then That (IFTTT), or Zapier might be even more flexible because you could then drop the file into popular enterprise tools like Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, or SharePoint. The good news is that both IFTTT and Zapier now have Google Glass connectors. The bad news is that, at press time, they both don’t quite work yet.
I tried both of those tools to see if I could get a video file from Glass to these services, but they are limited in what they send. For example, IFTTT will only send a text file (HTML) with a reference to the video on YouTube. Zapier will send photos to another Zapier action app, but at present, it only works with photos not videos. Smart video content management companies would do well to look into building connecter for these services.
With Glass and an enterprise media server recording and publishing video has never been easier and can be a differentiator for your organization to help create a successful corporate culture. When you let go of the A/V control and don’t just leave “filming” to the pros, you empower your workforce to see anything, communicate better, and learn more.
This article appears in the May 2014 issue of Streaming Media magazine as "How to Make Great Enterprise Video With Google Glass."
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