We've talked about RSS (Real Simple Syndication) a little bit before, but I wanted to added a little more information to help everyone know how to use it, since it can be so helpful.

Kelly Mullins posted early the Screencast.com and RSS article a few weeks ago. As a follow-up to that article, here is a video (2:58 minutes) that will walk you through the following:

* What RSS is

* How content owners can use RSS

* How viewers benefit from RSS

* How users can subscribe to content using RSS

You can watch a larger version here: http://www.screencast.com/t/OAems4p9W

I know RSS has been a great tool for me to stay up to date on the blogs and sites that I like to regularly follow, but don't want to have to visit to find out what's new.

If you've never used RSS before, it's super simple to use. If you decide that you no longer the subscription, you can always get rid of it.

You can even subscribe to this blog to make sure you keep up to date on lots of tips, tricks, and news about Screencast.com. Click on the RSS icon to get started.

If you didn't see the blog post previous to this about the new commenting feature on Screencast.com, here's a second chance. We've created a short tutorial video to walk you through some of the basics of the commenting feature.

Video (2:59 minutes, 5.54 MB)

View the larger version of the video here: http://www.screencast.com/t/ZGNhvOvnv

A couple of key points: Commenting is off by default, so if you would like to use comments, you'll need to turn the feature on. You can control whether you're notified of new comments or not. You can remove comments, and then if you need, reinstate them. And finally, you and your viewers can have an RSS feed for the comments.

Here in the training department at TechSmith, we're super excited to use commenting on Screencast.com. We use Screencast.com to host our videos for review and then send each other lots of feedback about how to improve the video tutorials trhough email. With the new commenting feature we can say goodbye to the back and forth emails and start posting comments! This not only cuts the clutter in all of our in-boxes, it also puts the comments all in one place.

How will you use the new commenting feature?

I wanted to share an updated video with everyone about some fundamentals of screencasting. Here at TechSmith, especially in the training department, we make a lot of screencasts.

Its been a goal of ours to share more of what we do and how we do it. This 3:25 minute video is an introductory look at how to improve your screencasts. In particular, this video goes through the basics of preparation, including scripting, story boarding, and more.

We'd love to hear if you have any tips that you use to make your screencasts better.

Some of you may have already noticed that on Screencast.com we have video tutorials. We try to create tutorials on functions and features that will help you out if you get a little confused or aren't sure of what to do. We also try to point out some of the things you may not know are possible.

If you haven't seen them yet, there are couple ways to find them. When you signed up for an account you could choose to get the Screencast.com Tips emails.

Didn't get those or missed it when you were signing up? Go to your Account and click on Tips and Tricks: Manage Subscription. Check out this quick how to video (15 sec. no audio):

See we even make tutorials about getting tutorials.

Don't want to mess with email - well you can see all of the training videos here: http://www.screencast.com/t/oUKFzJH6dSn. You can even subscribe to the RSS feed to be notified when we add new content.

We'll also post them to the blog. But due to some size constraints, the version you see here will be smaller than the ones in the training folder. But either way you still get the same content.

What Kind of Content is available?
Most of the tutorials are about using Screencast.com, but a few of them are about making better screencasts. These are things that we find a lot of people struggle with - us included. So we're taking what we learn and are trying to share them.

For instance - getting good quality audio that sounds really good is tough. To help we created a video about getting better audio: http://www.screencast.com/t/ee7qBLFUBv

Now the best part is- we're not done making tutorials. If there's something that you want to learn how to do with Screencast.com or there's a general topic that you're interested in that is related to screencasting, let us know. I can't guarantee that every suggestion will get a video, but we look at each suggestion and do what we can to help.

One of the challenges with having content, whether images or videos, is making sure the content gets the right exposure. When I create something, I want to share it in a way that allows others to find it and view it in the most seamless way possible.
 
Screencast.com's MediaRoll allows me to share content on my webpage, blog, or just about anywhere else I can embed Flash content - all in a nicely designed wrapper that contains thumbnail links to my content. And, a MediaRoll created from a playlist folder that I create allows me to share content located in multiple folders - even if those folders have security enabled.
 
This tutorial is just under 3 minutes and walks you through creating a MediaRoll for both a playlist and a public folder. 

So are you using the Screencast.com MediaRoll? If so we'd love to hear about it.

Remember you can find more video tutorials in the training folder or you can find answers in the Help Center.

Hi,

Did you know that you can allow viewers to download your videos?

From inside your library or folder, click on the Edit icon of the media you would like to make available for download.

Make sure the "Hide Download" link is unchecked to enable users to download the video.

Remember that as the owner of the media, you will always see the download media link when you are logged into your account . If you are not logged in, the link is only available if you make it available.

Here is a short video (under 2 minutes) that walks you through the entire process.

Enjoy.

You can see other tutorials about Screencast.com at: Screencast.com Training