So you’re looking into starting a youtube channel. You are already prepared not to receive free products and are on track to avoid spam, now you are tempted to drop some money into video equipment. This is a major pitfall for video producers and I suggest stopping right there.

There is no reason to spend hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars on video equipment. You don’t need a fancy HD camera, lighting, or a green screen to run a successful youtube channel. I started my channel making simple screen-casts and videos recording on my canon A640 and iSight. They weren’t great quality, with HD resolution and crisp audio, but they were watchable.

The key to producing content is, simply put, the content. I’ve spoken about this before but without a fresh opinion or insightful review, no one is going to watch your videos. Point blank. Assuming you have something to say, you need adequate resources. Simply recording from your built in webcam or point and shoot camera is fine but make sure you are filming in a reasonably quite and well-lit area. Again, your videos don’t have to be HD but avoid a noisy, dark room. Content produced in an environment like this is barley watchable, regardless of the quality of the information.

Additionally, you don’t need the latest and greatest items to run a youtube channel. Most of you are looking into technology reviewing, and that is a lucrative and rewarding niche, but you cannot compete with bigger news groups. By that, I mean you cannot expect to review the latest tech or newest innovation. The manufacturers won’t send you products to review when starting out and it’s way to expensive to purchase these gadgets just for video.

Review the products you already have. You’re reading this on a computer right now, why not review that? Or the cell phone or camera sitting in your pocket, someone is looking for reviews of those exact items right now. Or, head out to a local store and review the gadget their. I’ve seen reviews filmed in apple store’s or best buy’s and they offer a unique presentation that I find interesting. Additionally, I’m sure your friends and family have interesting products worthy of reviewing. In this day and age we are surround by gadgets, you don’t need something shiny and new to start voicing your opinions.

There is no reason to blow countless dollars on video equipment and review items. Each day, individuals start out making content only to find they don’t enjoy the experience. It’s not logical to spend all those resources on something that may end tomorrow so be smart, save your money, and start making that content.

Part 1.   Part 2.

Alright, so you cannot actually make money appear out of thin air. However, wouldn’t it be nice to get cashback on your regular, every day online purchases? No coupon codes or clearance section shopping but reimbursements on the goods you want from the retailers you trust. Thanks to Microsoft’s Bing, you can.

Bing Cashback is a great resource allowing you to receive a percentage of you purchases back from Microsoft. The process is really simple.

1. Search Bing for the product you are looking for.
2. Select an eligible vendor indicated by the Bing Cashback logo.
3. Click the cashback link and log into your account.
4. You will be redirected to the website and should proceed to purchase the items you are looking for.
5. Check your email to confirm cashback.
6. Once everything has processed and your account has at least a $5 balance, you can request your cashback.

It’s really that simple. All you have to do is use Bing when shopping to get a portion of the purchase cost back. In fact, you receive a percent back on everything you order, not just the item you where searching for on Bing.

But what vendors participate in Bing Cashback and how much can you save? There are hundreds of stores eligible for Bing Cashback including Best Buy, HP, and Ebay. Discounts fluctuate during the year and from vendor to vendor but expect cashback between five and twenty percent or more. For instance, right now you can get 35% back when ordering from Magazines Unlimited.

What are you waiting for? Check and see if a vendor you use is eligible for Bing Cashback and start saving today!

We have already discussed why you shouldn’t expect to receive free gifts/review units when starting a youtube channel. You need to build a relationship with your audience and strive to help them, not yourself, when starting out. But how do you gain a strong following? There is only one way: quality content.

I have seen countless people try to build their channels by uploading one or two videos and spamming their content around the web on other videos, website, forums, and channels. This simply doesn’t work. In order to actually gain an interactive audience they need to find your content either organically or through a recommendation. No one will take you seriously if they see your comment saying “please sub me”.

Furthermore, if you are trying to get a recommendation don’t post a comment saying “give me a shoutout”. In fact, even if you craft a nice email asking politely for a recommendation, more often than not you will be rejected. Generally speaking, people recommend users who they enjoy watching not those who annoy them.

If you are desperate and you are dying for a jump start, try writing a nice email asking for feedback on your new channel. In the message ask what works well and what needs to be improved in your videos. This is a non-intrusive way of getting more eyes on your content. Not only will your videos be viewed and feedback given, but if they like your content they may decide to recommend your channel to their audience.

Being humble is key on youtube. Don’t look down on people and certainly don’t irritate others. You need connections and community to succeed on youtube so aim to help others. When your focus is delivering quality content to help your audience more views, comments, and subscribers will naturally follow. Don’t spam but look to improve yourself. Only then will you progress in your online venture.

Check out Part 1 and Part 3.

I really love to help the community elicit better results from their online endeavors and as such I am starting a small series on what not to do when starting a youtube channel. I’m a realist and logically speaking not everyone can succeed on youtube, it’s just not possible. However, if you follow these tips, that I have used in the past, the entire youtube experience can be better for you.

Free Gifts/Review Items

I’m sure you have seen the big tech review networks flaunting their free review gadgets and thought ‘hey, I want to do that too’. There is nothing wrong with dreaming for success however you can not set out to get free merchandise. If you are only interested in producing content to get free things for yourself, you will never succeed. To succeed, you need a following and as such your main priority should be educating and entertaining your auidence.

Plus, as Jon has already discussed, you must offer value to the company and when you are just starting out you have no value. Thousands of channels are started each day and you need to stand out from the crowd and offer something no one else can.

There is no magic number of subscribers, videos, or comments to reach before the free merchandise starts flowing. Similarly, there is no magic email address to ask for free products to review. For me, I totally lucked out and got the Nokia N95-8GB to review before I had 300 subscribers. I didn’t have the biggest following but I could offer Nokia something different, a professional presentation from the eyes of the younger generation.

However, I didn’t start out wanting free ’stuff’ to review. I just wanted to share my knowledge with the auidence and help those who needed it. It takes a while to carve out your niche, in fact I’m still working on mine, but if you truly have an interest in talking tech and helping others you are a success. You can have 10 or 10,000 subscribers but if you make a difference in someone’s life you have accomplished the goal. Only with this mindset can you be successful on youtube or in life. If you are just clawing for the free stuff or the easy route, you can only be disappointed.

Check out Part 2 and Part 3.

Abridged Thoughts:
Need For Speed Shift is the 13th game in the need for speed series. Shift, developed by slightly mad studios, is focused on emulating the real life driving experience. And for the most part, NFS Shift delivers on this point of emphasize. I’m not a racing buff but this game was fun to play, rewarding and challenging all at the same time. My primary issue with the game was the long load times but this can be forgiven because of the great gameplay.

Make sure to watch the HD video review to get a more complete sense of NFS Shift.

It’s amazing how much nicer videos look after they have been edited. Although professional movie studios spend weeks and months filming movies, countless additional hours are spent in front of a computer screen editing the film. The same can be applied to youtube videos. I have seen many videos that would be very powerful crippled by a lack of post production. I’m not saying you need CG and multiple camera angles, but adding some transitions and titles can really improve the quality of your production.

If you want more video views, a more rewarding watching experience or just want to take up video editing, enjoy this HD tutorial walking you through the eloquent yet simple steps to bettering your content.

I’m sure you are familiar with the design of mail.app. A column on the left highlighting your different mailboxes, labels, reminders, ect, and then two rows to the right showing all your emails and the selected message. On a 4:3 screen this works fine but wouldn’t it be nice to expand mail horizontally allowing you to benefit from your wide-screen monitor? Enter letterbox, my favorite plugin for mail.app.

(Click To Enlarge)

Installation for Leopard and Tiger users could not be easier. Simply download the respected file for your OS and let letterbox do its thing. Snow Leopard users have a slightly more tedious installation process however. Download the snow leopard build, create a folder at ~/Library/Mail/Bundles, Open Terminal and type: “defaults write com.apple.mail EnableBundles 1″ without quotes, copy Letterbox.mailbundle into ~/Library/Mail/Bundles, and restart Mail. It’s not particularly difficult but it’s not a GUI installer either.

Overall, there is no reason not to use letterbox. It maximizes the screen resolution you currently have and I prefer the design with all vertical columns anyway. Plus, letterbox is free and simple to disable or remove should you prefer the standard layout. What are you waiting for, download letterbox today.

Apple has yet to officially supporting multitasking on the iPhone for one reason or another. I’m sure future models will support this feature at a premium, thanks apple, but you can enable basic multitasking on your current hardware, right now, free of charge. Alright, so it’s not that simple because you need to have a jailbroken device but beyond that it’s easy. All you have to do is:

1. Go to Cydia.
2. Search for Backgrounder
3. Install the application.

It’s really that simple. Once you install the backgrounder simply open the application you want to run in the background, hold down the home button, and background support is enabled. You can browse the web, answer emails, or update twitter all while pandora is streaming music or while you listen to MLB At Bat.

Are you looking for similar tips? Why not check out my personal blog or even my HD videos? They’re all free and can help you maximize the current technology you have.