MindBites Launches Optimized Support for Screencast Tutorials

Austin, TX (PRWEB) April 21, 2009

MindBites, the web marketplace and publishing platform for video instructional content, today announced that it has added functionality to offer optimized support for the uploading, selling, and playback of screencast-based tutorials. With this additional capability, the company expands its publishing and commerce platform to enable the first web marketplace for the buying and selling of screencasts, further empowering the market for technology tutorial.

“We’ve always viewed screencasts as an ideal content medium for MindBites, since they can offer a unique instructional experience, they are easy to create, and the dynamic technology content they cover benefits from a highly fluid publishing environment,” explains MindBites Founder and CEO Jason Reneau. “With the recent availability of low-cost, cross-platform screencasting tools and the increased focus on commerce and marketplaces in this tougher economic environment, the timing seemed ideal to expand into screencasts.”

In conjunction with the launch, MindBites is introducing the Screencast4Cash contest, in partnership with TechSmith, the makers of Jing Pro and Camtasia Studio screencasting software, and Download Squad, the popular blog focused on software and technology. In addition to TechSmith product prizes, the contest will award a $ 1000 Grand Prize and a $ 500 People’s Choice Award. Additionally, for every vote cast, $ 0.10 will be donated to the Youth for Technology Foundation, an organization that aims to provide marginalized people in under-developed communities with technology tools, training and resources.

“Enabling screencasts adds to the list of recent features we’ve rolled out to expand the flexibility of our platform for our authors, including the ability to price lessons from $ 0.99 to $ 99, bundle lessons into series, and host private stores on their own sites,” explained Huntley Tarrant, MindBites VP of Business Development. “Especially in these tough economic times, we are seeing a lot of interest from individuals and content companies looking for additional revenue channels and ways to monetize their content.”

http://www.mindbites.com/cast4cash

About MindBites:

MindBites is your place on the web to find, publish and sell how-to lessons and video tutorials. A full publishing and commerce platform, MindBites enables everyone from individuals to content sites and publishing companies to publish, sell and distribute video tutorials and how-to lessons in the MindBites marketplace, on their own site, and across the web. The resulting on-demand knowledge library, which covers everything from Calculus to Photoshop to Baby Sign Language, simply can’t be found anywhere else, and it offers individuals and organizations a unique monetization platform for their instructional video content. MindBites promises to revolutionize the way the world publishes and shares knowledge. MindBites launched publicly at SXSW last year and received an A round of financing from True Ventures of Palo Alto, CA, joining such other new media portfolio companies as Automattic (WordPress), GigaOm, Sphere, and GoodReads. For more information, visit MindBites at http://www.mindbites.com/.

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MindBites Launches Optimized Support for Screencast Tutorials

MindBites Launches Video Instructional Marketplace

Austin, TX (PRWEB) March 21, 2008

MindBites, a new social marketplace and publishing platform for video instructional content, today officially unveiled its Web site, MindBites.com. Designed to enable the millions of potential digital authors, MindBites allows anyone with valuable knowledge to create, sell and promote innovative rich instructional media across the Web and the world. The result for users is a deep, on-demand, and ever-evolving marketplace of instructional media, such as How to Sew a Pillowcase Dress, Signing with Your Baby or How to Replace the Motor in your Treadmill.

“What’s been amazing for me as a professional instructor is the ability to connect and help people from all over the world and not just those who I can teach in person,” said Laura Berg, a MindBites author who teaches sign language for hearing babies and toddlers. Berg, an 8th grade school teacher based in Toronto, discovered the benefits of communicating with infants through sign language after her own daughter was born. Today, she offers classes in Toronto and nine video lessons through MindBites.

The company also announced its first round of outside funding, receiving a $ 1 million Series A investment from True Ventures, a backer of several other notable new media companies, including Automattic (makers of WordPress), GigaOm, Meebo, Sphere, and BrightRoll.

“We invested in MindBites because it’s a great fit to our existing portfolio of aggressive, new media Web businesses,” said John Burke, General Partner at True Ventures. “We like to identify and support entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of development in the highest-growth segments of the technology market. The team at MindBites is focused on an area we think has great potential, with an innovative business model that will distinguish them in the marketplace.”

When deciding if a video is worth purchasing, potential buyers can access a preview of the lesson, read ratings and reviews and learn about the author’s credentials. Once a lesson is purchased, using credits priced from $ 1.69 to $ 1.99, users can watch it online or download it to their computer, iPod or mobile device. Authors receive one dollar for every lesson purchased. Viewers also have the ability to communicate with the authors to maintain an ongoing instructional relationship over time.

MindBites has built a comprehensive set of resources to help authors turn expert knowledge into valuable instructional content, including an author toolkit, author forums and free video lessons on digital media production. Once uploaded, they can analyze the views, sales and ratings of their lessons through a robust author dashboard. They also gain access to tips, tools and programs to promote their lesson across the web and many platforms including YouTube, iTunes and Facebook.

“Our focus is on enabling millions of potential authors to harness their knowledge by creating rich instructional media, earning money or benefiting charity in the process,” said Founder and CEO Jason Reneau. “Just like eBay let’s you make money off of what’s in your garage, MindBites let’s you make money off what’s in your mind.”

MindBites has been open to the public since October and today has more than 100 authors, and more than 200 lessons across such areas as Arts and Craft, Parenting, DIY, and Digital Media.

About MindBites

MindBites is your place on the web to learn directly from other real people and share what you know with the world. A social marketplace and publishing platform for video instructional content, MindBites enables anyone to share their knowledge, skills and passions through video lessons, earning money for themselves or for charity. The result is a unique community of discovery with content that simply can’t be found anywhere else. MindBites promises to revolutionize the way the world shares knowledge.

For more information, visit MindBites at MindBites.com

MindBites Launches Video Instructional Marketplace