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 instruction.
“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.”