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10 Things I Love about Screenr.com

By on January 11, 2012 in eLearning

When I worked at Adobe and we announced Acrobat.com, I was so excited with all the free Cloud services included, and it also meant that I could leverage the story in promoting my apps because of some of the integration between them that we had built. As an Evangelist then, with every new product launch Adobe did, i always asked myself, how can we leverage the new technology in our less known products, and more specifically, how can we get Adobe Captivate involved.

One Acrobat.com service I thought about was having a light-weight version of Adobe Captivate as part of Acrobat.com that would enable customers to do simple screen recordings or even software simulations, that could be shared and posted everywhere, on YouTube for example, or even right on Acrobat.com somehow. I thought not only would this be awesome for people to use, but I also envisioned the tremendous marketing benefits this would create for us. I imagined everyone who tried it would want to do more eventually and as a result would investigate further and eventual end up buying Adobe Captivate. So armed with my passion and all, I went to work on selling this idea to the right people, but unfortunately as it happened with most of my ideas, it was shut down and never implemented. So much for that. More on this in the eBook I’m writing on what I learned at Adobe.

Enter Screenr.com from the Articulate folks, the makers of Articulate Presenter and Articulate Studio.

When I first found out about Screenr, I thought wow, these guys are brilliant in so many different ways.

Let me explain.

Screenr is a completely free, web-based technology that allows anyone to sign in with their Twitter or Facebook account and record anything on your screen for up to 5 minutes. Then you can Publish and Tweet a link to your recording. People interested in your topic, goes back to Screenr.com, watches the recording and says, wow this is cool, I want to do the same thing, so just like that you have millions of people doing the same thing and driving people back to Screenr.com. Eventually all the major Tech blogs rave about it and people say, this is amazing, who creates this technology, I want to know more and when they need a Rapid eLearning tool, guess who they are going to go to, that’s right, Articulate.com, the folks who make awesome software they say.

Simply Brilliant!

For the last few days, I’ve been using Screenr.com and I’m hooked, I can’t stop recording, and I’m looking for any excuse to use it again and again. I have even created a category on my Evernote account, where I send myself emails every time I have an new idea for a Screenr.

Here are 10 things I absolutely love about Screenr and I believe you will too when you give it a shot:

    1. Screenr.com is completely Free. That’s right, anyone with a Browser can go to Screenr.com and start recording. There’s a Pro version but I haven’t investigated that yet.
    2. Nothing to Download. Screenr is browser-based, so there’s nothing to download locally for itto work, it’s in the Cloud if you will. That means I can record something from my Mac at home, or my PC in the shop, or record something when I’m traveling right from my laptop.
    3. Screenr is limited to 5 minutes. I know some people may have an issue with this limitation, but I actually like it and I believe this feature alone will make you a better screencaster. This is like Twitter limiting us to 140 characters, I believe this makes us better communicators because we have to be creative in how we share our message.
    4. Screenr has a commenting platform. Everything these days has a commenting platform as a way to interact with other users interested in the same things. I’ve only posted a few screencasts, but I’ve already gotten a few comments and I enjoy responding back.
    5. Screenr uses Twitter or Facebook to sign in. Again very straightforward, if you are on Twitter or Facebook, you are in, just sign in using your credentials and there are no additional forms to fill out.
    6. Publish and Tweet. Once you finish your recording, simply give your screencast a meaningful description and click Publish and Tweet. The recording is added to your list of recordings on Screenr.com and immediately shared with your Twitter followers. Here’s the last one I did as an example:

      7.  

    7. You can also publish to YouTube. Once your screencast has been published to Screenr.com, there’s an option to also publish it to YouTube. This is obviously important because after all, YouTube is the second largest search engine, so you’ll want to do this if you want your content to be found. Incidentally this process couldn’t be simpler, just enter your username and password for YouTube and it goes to work.

    8. You can download the recordings as .MP4. I love this feature too because it allows eLearning professionals, Technical Communicators and anyone else to embed their videos in their projects.
    9. Videos work on iPad and iPhone. By now we all know that Apple will never embrace Flash and most everyone has moved on and began making the necessary transitions toward HTML5 so that iOS devices can display videos properly for their end-users. No worries, your Screenr.com videos will display just fine on the iPad and on the iPhone.
    10. Excellent for Informal and Social Learning. Last but certainly not least is this important new way in which we are learning today with the advent of Social Media. We all want to share our knowledge and learn from others and there’s no better way to do this than by sharing what you know with your communities via short recordings. I’ve said many times that everything I know about woodworking (my new hobby), I learned on YouTube.com. I have gotten so much more watching short videos than by reading the manuals that came with all my power tools.

    So there you have it, go to Screenr.com and record your first video and leave a comment here and I’ll go an check it out and give you feedback.    You can find my videos here: http://www.screenr.com/user/rjacquez

,,,

 

  • Kelly Ping

    I love Screenr too! I’ve been using it for a ton of different uses from giving quick tips to fellow employees to quick documentation for our customers.

    • Anonymous

      Thanks for the comment, Kelly. Glad to hear you too love Screenr, I think the technology is amazing. Can you share your Screenr page? I’d love to check out your screencasts.

  • Screenr rocks, its true.  Great list highlighting the features of Screenr.  I am always surprised at how people end up using the service for things that I’ve never even thought of!

  • Glad you like it RJ!

    One of the other things I really love about Screenr is how helpful it is when preparing for live presentations.  I spoke at mLearnCon this summer and practiced my presentation multiple times and created screencasts of each section of my topic.  It was really helpful for rehearsing and figuring out week points in my presentation.

    Anyway, glad you like the service.

    -Dave

    • That’s such a great point, Dave. I do that, too. I also find it helpful for writing tutorials. I like to begin with Screenr and then write the tutorial. That process really helps me write actionable steps without a lot of extra commentary.

      • Anonymous

        Good stuff, Guys. Rehearsing for a presentation with Screenr is a great idea and David, you using it as a way to storyboard your tutorials before writing them makes a lot of sense. Thank you both for your ongoing support.

  • Good write up.  I found that the five minute limit has helped me stay on task with the core message.  When I first started, I’d ramble on and then see I had 30 seconds left.  I’ve learned to do less rambling. 🙂

    • Anonymous

      I’m with you on the ramble part, Tom. I’m finding the same thing for me and I find that having that stop watch going is making me a more focused narrator. I’m hoping it will also improve my presentations. Thanks for the comment.

  • RJ, Glad you’re digging Screenr.  As a footnote, it has proved invaluable for Articulate as a technical support tool so customers can screencast cases they submit to us.  And, business customers are loving Screenr Business and it’s many additional capabilities.

    • Anonymous

      Absolutely, Mark. I’m really loving Screenr and I can see how this is perfect for tech support team and their customers, because after all it’s easier to record the issue than to write up every step. I have to look more into the Business Pro version. Thanks for the comment.

  • Screenr is great! I originally started using it because of how simple it was to get started..sign in with Twitter, press the record button and you are on your way! Then you could publish and post to Twitter and YouTube. Awesome!

    Before, I started using it, I was concerned about not being able to edit but what I found is that it just made me plan and rehearse better.

    I have done a variety of videos. In my latest project, I embedded them into a LiveBinder. You can see the videos on the Yammer Interface and Creating a Post in Yammer tabs in the LiveBinder.

    http://www.livebinders.com/play/play_or_edit?id=191096

    • Anonymous

      Hi Cathy, I just checked out the link and I like how you are supplementing your work with Screenr screencasts, nice work. One thing I also find nice about Screenr is that even when I’m not fully ready, I can give it a go, take note of what I need to change, and then make the second shot the final one. 

      Btw, I forgot to mention in my list the ability to embed a video in a blog post or any web page in the way you do. Need to go back and add that. Thanks for the comment.

  • Great post, RJ.  Not sure how I could live without Screenr these days.  We really love how successful Screenr has become. So many creative uses. 

    ps: if you’re ever interested in private screencasting be sure to check out Screenr Business http://business.screenr.com  

    • Anonymous

      Will do, Arlyn. I’m so impressed with Screenr and everything else you guys do. So good to find companies with focus on one thing and people who truly care about customers. What a concept. It’s refreshing. Thanks.

      • I along with Arlyn definitely encourage you to try out Screenr Business.  I would be happy to give you a tour around the product.   Once you get signed up for a trial or if you want to talk before hand please contact me via email at craig at screenr.com

        • Anonymous

          Hi Craig, not sure if you saw your tweet to you, but I’d definitely be interested in getting a 1:1 demo of Screenr Business. Le me know what time works for you next week. Thanks.

  • Just read your blog. Very nice. Noticed your points only go up to six and then they start over at one. Still, it’s a good read. Keep up the great Evangelising my friend.

    • Anonymous

      Thanks, Phil. I appreciate the love. With regards to the numbered list issue, I had it initially but then I corrected it. Can you please try refreshing your browser, or even checking using a different one? Thanks.

  • Good work… Go ahead…..

  • I’ve used it for making quick courses for coworkers and for instantly solving problems for customers. It’s a treat! 

    • Anonymous

      Thanks for the comment and RT. It’s a real treat for sure. I’m not trying out Screenr Business and it’s even better. I will share what I like with that edition in the future post. Thanks.

  • Anonymous

    Screenr.com sounds just like Jing, from Tech Smith, the company that makes Camtasia.

    • Anonymous

      Hi Bob, thanks for your comment and yes, TechSmith Jing is a lot like Screenr and incidentally I’m almost done with my review of Jing, which I will post as soon as possible. Thanks.

  • I kind of like the idea of short focused simulations to provide context to technical documentation that may have to be generic by nature. Screenr looks ideal for that.

    • Anonymous

      Good point, Colum. I like your idea for how to use Screenr in Technical Documentation. Have you had a chance to record one and embed it in your Docs? Please keep me posted.

  • Flow Learning – Amanda Hoynens

    I agree Screenr is a fantastic product – I have the business version and use it to embedd screencasts into courses, for online demos and for quick customer demos/support. Because the Biz version is private I can personalise them for individual customers.

  • kstagg

    Looking forward to the tell-all book RJ. :]

    • rjacquez

      Hey Kevin, yeah that’s right, I’m already working on the movie too 🙂 Thanks for your support, buddy.

  • Joseph

    In order to test the product, I had to create an account and give them access to one of my social media accounts (you cannot just create an independent account). Only then is it revealed that ALL VIDEOS ARE SHARED PUBLICLY. This was not what I was looking for, so I tried to delete my account. After struggling to do this, I finally discover in support that YOUR ACCOUNT CANNOT BE DELETED! I can’t even write to them to get them to delete it if they could.

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