As a recent USA Today article noted, "'It's the Wild West' now for Web Video." There are no rules, no formulas, only ideas. In the freewheeling world of web video, anything goes and anyone has the opportunity to strike it rich.

In my business I'm always interacting with people who have out-of-the-box ideas for using web video to sell ads or build communities or market businesses. Not all of these ideas will work, but some of them will. Right now, no one--not network executives, not YouTube managers, not marketing geniuses--knows what business model will work best for creating and profiting from web video.

For videographers, many opportunities exist already for earning money producing web videos. For entrepreneurs, the challenge is to maximize revenue from the distribution of those videos. There are many new developments ahead in the wild west of web video, and I'm excited to see them emerge.

2008 may be the year that the newspaper dies. Subscriptions are down, printing costs are up, and who wants to wait for a finger-smudging paper when up-to-the-minute news is right at your fingertips?

Many newspapers, recognizing this shift, are positioning themselves to become online news sources. Part of this media move includes shifting from the written word and still photos to video stories.

I know that being a good journalist doesn't mean someone will also be a good video journalist, but newspaper editors don't necessarily feel the same way. This article, How Not to Do Newspaper Video, explains some of the pitfalls newspapers have to overcome to succeed in the field of video journalism. To do it right requires time, commitment and skill--things that are sometimes at odds with a newspaper's need to get stories out quickly.

• Create a video journalism blog

In the past few years, we've seen the number of businesses using video on their web sites increase dramatically. For my own video production business, as well as for this web site, I try (a little obsessively) to keep up with who's using video and how they are doing it. This knowledge helps me come up with creative solutions for my customers, and creative story ideas for the readers of this web site.

I recently discovered a video service, VideoBloom, that is also trying to keep tabs on which businesses are using web video. Since February, the VideoBloom VIEW Index has released two fascinating (for those of us interested in this topic, anyway) surveys about web video usage by Dow Jones and NASDAQ companies.

Among the 30 Dow Jones companies, 90 percent use web video. Their videos include everything from virtual tours and video tutorials to movie trailers and user-generated community videos. Only 48 percent of the 100 NASDAQ companies, on the other hand, are using web video.

The VIEW Index looks at many aspects of a company's web video strategy--how is video incorporated into the overall web site, what video formats are used, and how are viewers able to interact with the videos. The overall finding from the Video Bloom VIEW Index, which shouldn't be too surprising, is that the bigger the company, the more likely it is to have a sophisticated web video platform.

Smaller companies, though, should still consider web video. With so many digital solutions available, it's not prohibitively expensive, and it can help you compete with the larger guys!

• Web Video Ideas for Small Businesses

Mom always likes homemade presents best, and with the digital video technology available today, homemade is way beyond glitter and macaroni on construction paper. Instead, why not try your hand at a family photo montage, edited and put on DVD for mom. Or take those old family movies and remaster them for her for the digital age. We've got even more suggestion in our list of Mother's Day Video Gifts. These gifts are straightforward, heartfelt, and easy to complete before Sunday!

These days, it's hard to be a video producer without being at least a little bit of a web nerd. Sites like YouTube have taken a lot of the guessing out of uploading and video streaming, but if you are a professional you don't want to be able to do it yourself.

When it came to updating my video production web site, I looked hard for a video solution that was affordable, customizable and easy to use. I wanted an easy way to upload Flash videos into an adaptable player, where I could change the video size, background color and branding. But I didn't want to pay my web designer to create it for me.

I didn't think I'd find an appropriate solution, though, until someone recommended the JW FLV Media Player. It was exactly what I was looking for, and it was, best of all, extremely affordable (free for non-commercial use). If you're interested in posting flash videos without help from YouTube or working knowledge of Flash software, this is something you need to check out!

When I applied to college, I relied on a brochures. Without being able to visit some of the schools I was interested in, all I had were some words and glossy pictures to tell me what the place was really like.

These days, high school seniors trying to decide where to spend the next four years have a lot more information at their fingertips. For students, online video is a perfect way to learn about a college and virtually experience various aspects of its programs, campus and student body. For colleges, online video is a perfect way to communicate with potential students and display what makes a school unique.

Any student or institution interested in online video needs to check out iTunes U. It's a special section of the iTunes store devoted to college videos. Schools from Abilene Christian University to Yale have videos and podcasts available through iTunes U. I was surprised to see that my alma mater, New York University, with it's famous film/video program, didn't have anything posted. For shame!

For schools, it's the ultimate way to market to a young generation that's grown up accessing information through short video clips. I bet we'll see NYU up there before long!

• Install iTunes on your computer
• Post your video on iTunes
• Educational videos online
• Tips for videotaping a graduation ceremony

Last week, a business acquaintance asked me to check out a video she'd posted on YouTube. It was a decent video--not a professional production, but created with a lot of care and sincerity, as well as a solid basic knowledge of videography and editing. Overall, the video looked good and would provide a positive impression to any colleagues or potential clients.

The problem was, she hadn't tagged the video, so not many people were going to be watching it.

Tagging only takes a few seconds, but it's essential step if you want your video to be recommended to viewers or found through general web searches. Sites like YouTube use tags to determine find videos on related topics and recommend them to viewers. Search engines like Google use tags to determine the content of videos.

So, if you're interested in gaining a wide audience for your video, make sure tag it with terms that will interest your viewers. It's the easiest way to let people know that you've got what they want to see!

Rock songs are full of wisdom, but are rock stars? You have a chance to find out in YouTube's Living Legends project. Until April 18 you can upload a video in which you ask Mick Jagger and Keith Richards a question. The videos will be judged and a few questions will be selected to be answered by the Stones.

What do you want to know from Mick and Keith? Go ahead and ask!

• How to upload a video to YouTube

The other night I was working for one of my favorite clients, Smith College, videotaping a panel discussion about one of my favorite topics, digital media. Needless to say, it was a good time.

Smith brought together a group of distinguished alums--an NPR news director, the founder of Media Bistro, a former CNN executive, a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor and a cable tv expert. For an hour and a half they, and the audience, discussed the changes that digital media and the web have brought to journalism and news programming.

Not surprisingly, video was a popular topic. Traditional radio or print outlets are now producing video. Users are uploading their own videos onto news sites. Viewers are going to YouTube to view source footage, bypassing the sound bites and analysis delivered by networks. What does all of this mean for journalism and "the news"?

For better or worse, the internet allows broadcasters and viewers to have a conversation. It allows audiences to fragment and niche markets to thrive. It allows individual citizens a forum to broadcast their own news. This makes a lot of big media companies nervous. But it makes smaller media companies, like mine, and independent producers very excited about the opportunities that are being created!

• Start your own news video blog

Using digital editing software, you can do anything to your video footage. Black and white, page turns between scenes, letterboxing, solarizing, pixelating... it can all be done at the touch of a button.

But have you ever noticed that outside of music videos you almost never see those special effects included in professional productions? They're usually reserved for videos made by beginning editors who go crazy with their new software. If you want your videos to have a professional look, stick with the classic editing effects. They're simple, straightforward and allow your audience to concentrate on the substance of your video without flashy distractions.

• iMovie video effects
• Movie Maker effects