Did you come here through the guest article I did for Darren Rouse’s Problogger?
If so, let me welcome you with open arms! Thank you for taking the time to visit and for reading my post over there. I hope my article inspired you to think about making your videos accessible.
As I indicated in the comment section at Problogger, I am deeply sorry that the subtitled video in my guest article was not working when you were there the last few days. Overstream was forced to migrate to a dedicated server due to its inability to handle increased traffic loads. I’m told it will be back on its feet in 24 hours.
Update as of Wednesday, February 27, 2008 6:14 pm EST: Overstream is now back up and running. You can either go back to the guest post I did at Problogger or you could see what you were supposed to see the first place right here:
May you enjoy browsing around here and thanks again for stopping by!
If you liked this post and you want to be notified of the next one, subscribe via Email or Full Text RSS Feed. I would love to have you as part of the community!
Welcome! I'm the founder and professor of Adversity University specializing in personal development for spiritual beings having a human experience. To see a speaking demo tape and other information, please click 
8:54 pm on February 26th, 2008 1
Hi, Stephen! I popped in via Pro-blogger. I use a HEAP of videos on my site (well, not a “heap” - about 46, to be precise) and they are the biggest draw for readers and search engines. I never thought about captions, but I think it’s a BRILLIANT idea, and I wanted to thank you for it! I’ll be looking into it!
Best regards,
Mary
6:59 am on February 27th, 2008 2
Mary:
How very interesting that you have a embroidery website! There’s a small group of people who meet weekly at the local coffee shop here in Akron who come together and knit for a few hours!
Thank you for dropping a note after seeing my guest article at Problogger. Unfortunately the Overstream server was migrating to a dedicated server, preventing you and thousands of others to see my video that I wanted very much people to see. They are still down as of now but I’m told by its adminstrator it’ll be back up and running again.
I hope you had a chance to see both videos in my article and that you enjoyed them.
Thanks again for reaching out to me.
11:09 am on February 27th, 2008 3
Yep. I came from Problogger. I am just starting out in blogging. My wife is a Realtor and after creating her website I decided to go one step further into a blog. Like I have nothing better to do. So far I am the only one learning and posting. I have been spending much time reading real estate blogs and it is refreshing reading blogs like this one. PS I am a private pilot too.
Scott’s last blog post..Tega Cay Wal-Mart Will Open Sooner
3:16 pm on February 27th, 2008 4
Well, Stephen, that is quite an accomplishment to be a guest author on Problogger. Congratulations! One of our boys have made it.
Don’t be embarassed because the Overstream didn’t work. People who need it will come back and review it after they get their transition done.
The rest of us are just proud!
4:04 pm on February 27th, 2008 5
Good video Stephen. You’ll be a pro sooner than you think. You’re well on your way. I hope you got enough visitors for the contest to win.
5:08 pm on February 27th, 2008 6
Pat:
Thanks for your vote of confidence on being a pro sooner than I think - I appreciate how you perceive me!
As for the number of visitors for the contest video, well, I actually fell short, according to the statistics, compared to a few of the others but I still have a chance of winning in the category I entered in. The judges vote this Friday so we’ll see.
It’s out of my hands now. But thanks for your continuing support and for rallying behind me. It’s a great, humbling feeling to find people like you across the blogosphere.
5:12 pm on February 27th, 2008 7
Corinne:
I love how you put it: “one of our boys made it.” That’s cute and humbly appreciated. Thanks. But like the underdog in a fiercely competitive campaign would say, “I have come far but I have a ways to go.”
And it helps to have people like you surrounding, pushing and inspiring me to keep going. Thanks!
You’re right - people who need to see the subtitled videos will come back to see it on their own time. But I have to be honest. I was embarrassed because it was a one shot deal to show thousands of people an actual subtitled video that I did without any help. I wanted them to see right then and there how easy it was to do it.
But I might as well follow what I preach and that is: “Everything happens for a reason, especially in the midst of adversity.” For me, not having that video work was a form of adversity becuase my expectations were so high.
Oh well. What can you do? You just keep going and ride with it.
5:16 pm on February 27th, 2008 8
Scott:
Thanks for coming over from Problogger. Glad you came by. We all got our start with that first blog post. Welcome to the blogosphere!
How coincidential that you’re a private pilot too! That’s way cool. We’ll definitely have to touch base on our respective experiences.
I’m glad you like my blog and that you find it refreshing. I look forward to having you come back and participate in the Adversity University community which is slowly but surely expanding.
7:43 pm on February 27th, 2008 9
Nice video, I really enjoyed it and think the captions are great idea. It makes it so easy to understand and read along as you listen. I think it should be used by everyone. No matter who the speaker is, I like it. It is so hard to catch every word when someone is speaking and it is nice to be able to read along.
Thank you for the great information!
Brad Baggett’s last blog post..Brain Candy - Don’t rot your mind!
8:25 pm on February 27th, 2008 10
Brad:
I agree that subtitles should be used by everyone because then it becomes “all inclusive.” No one gets left out.
And if more people would take the time to climb the slight learning curve in subtitling, they’d find out that it isn’t as hard as they might imagine. Nor is it expensive because it’s free!
12:29 pm on March 3rd, 2008 11
Just to say thanks for such a great article on Problogger and thanks for the communication too. Captioning is so simple to add and can really help to make the web a better place for all! (interesting blog by the way - now following you in my RSS!)
8:26 am on March 4th, 2008 12
Hi there Laura!
It’s nice to have you here, taking the time to comment and letting me know you came over here from Problogger.
Yes, captioning/subtitling is pretty easy to do, even for the non-techie (like myself). But I have to warn you, if you have “perfectionist” tendencies, it’s a time consuming process. You’ll be focused on making sure the words appear at exactly the right time and so on and so forth. You’ll be concentrating really hard on making sure the words reflect exactly what you said and this can be a challenge if you didn’t quite catch what you said (that’s happened to me a few times already, haha).
But overall, it’s an exhilarating experience, doing something that you previously might have thought could only be done by “experts.”
I’m excited to hear you are following me here via RSS! Thanks for telling me. I appreciate it much.