Starting your own video blog couldn’t be easier, because you only need two things:
A $125 pocket-sized Flip Video camcorder and a way to publish your content online. That’s pretty much it. (Oh, and something interesting to say.)

I’m recommending the Flip to all Lava Row clients who are engaged in blogging efforts. Sure, you’re not going to have the polish of a high-end studio production, but you will have immediacy. Today, there’s simply no reason to not have a video component on your blog.

Since my Flip arrived in the mail I’ve been toying around with various publishing tools — Seesmic (still in beta), Blip.tv and ye olde stand-by, YouTube.

Here are some pros and cons:

• Seesmic - There’s been a lot of buzz and early adoption of this app among Twitter users, but I can’t get past the all-Flash interface and FLV format limitations. Converting files to FLVs before uploading is the last thing I want to waste time on.
• YouTube - This is by far the most mainstream and widespread publishing tool, but the audio and video quality is still lacking. I expect it can only get better over time, especially with Google’s war chest behind the R&D.
• Blip.tv - It takes longer to get your file uploaded, but the output quality is very good. (So that settles it, I’m using Blip for my first vlog post!)

I realize there are dozens of other great video-sharing apps out there — which ones have you been successful with?

I hate using the term “viral video” when putting together social media proposals for clients. Am I guilty of using it? Yes, absolutely — but recently I’m doing my best to stay away from the label. “Viral” should never be promised or assumed. It’s a goal to be achieved by creating video content good enough to be passed from person to person on a large scale.

There is no exact formula for a successful viral video campaign, but it doesn’t hurt to try the following ingredients:

1. Be funny. People like to laugh, and share laughs.
2. Be outrageous, shocking or just plain bizarre. Remember, there’s just as much white noise online (if not more so) than traditional media.
3. Leverage subject matter or concepts already popular in Web culture. This helps you cast a wider net.

Time for a case study. About a year ago, when I worked in the advertising agency world, I helped create a video for Kum & Go featuring three guys obsessed with setting off the biggest Mentos and Diet Coke explosion of all time. This allowed us to tap into the already large volume of content, interest and traffic surrounding the “Mentos + Diet Coke = Boom” theme.

The video sat on YouTube for 10 months, receiving over 13,000 views and 50 comments — good, but not great. This October it was posted to Break, where it blew up immediately with nearly half a million views in 48 hours. (As it stands today, the video has had over 1.5 million viewers and 900 comments.)

So what did we learn? The YouTube audience is mainstream, while Break is niche (mostly teenage and college males). Niche worked best in getting a large number of views, not to mention engagement in the comments section.

So go forth and create, and don’t forget to entertain.

The Greater Des Moines Partnership wants to know why you love DSM, and they want your answers on YouTube. Spreading the Des Moines gospel is critical to the growth and emergence of our city, so let’s help them out — ultimately, groups like the GDMP can’t do it alone.

So, what do you love about living here? Grabbing a basket of tots and a beer at the High Life Lounge? Our local art community and upstart music scene? Unique shops like SMASH and Eden? Whatever it is, grab a camera and some friends, create a video, then upload it to The YouTubes. If it’s deemed coolest, you can even win up to $1,000. (Full details here.)

While we’re on the subject of Des Moines, here’s a nice piece about the city that some of my good pals at Applied Art helped make. Watch “CREATE”:

In the past, television has impacted — okay, influenced — presidential elections. (Clinton on Arsenio, the John Kerry “swiftboat” TV ads of ‘04.) With the emergence of the Web as THE most powerful communication tool of all time, and the public’s increasing disgust toward political ads, it is certain that social media will play a huge role in 2008.

Smart candidates will leverage social applications in interesting and effective ways. Others will fear it, not get it or just plain ignore it. So which candidate is scoring an A+ in their use of social media so far? Barack Obama. He’s using Twitter frequently, and two buzzworthy pro-Obama (prObama?) videos have popped up on YouTube. While nobody can tie these vids directly to the Obama camp, we highly suspect they’re behind it. Or at least encouraging it.

Below is our favorite, “I Got a Crush…On Obama.” Also, don’t forget to check out “Vote Different,” a mashup of Apple’s “1984″ ad and Hillary Clinton.

How else can politicians leverage social media to engage voters? The always-insightful Danah Boyd has some great suggestions.