Thursday, 10 Nov 2011 04:52 GMT

In focus

Lights, camera, action! These immortal words are ones I never thought I would have to hear as a dyed in the wool print journalist. But as many of you will have seen every week, my colleagues and I now present Sign7 News, covering what we judge are the most import stories from the last week. The motivation behind starting this video news platform, which we broadcast on our dedicated sign industry video hub SignLinkTV.com, was ultimately driven by demand from readers and suppliers alike. The common requ

Lights, camera, action! These immortal words are ones I never thought I would have to hear as a dyed in the wool print journalist. But as many of you will have seen every week, my colleagues and I now present Sign7 News, covering what we judge are the most import stories from the last week.

The motivation behind starting this video news platform, which we broadcast on our dedicated sign industry video hub SignLinkTV, was ultimately driven by demand from readers and suppliers alike.

The common request from those calling for such a service was a quick an easily digestible news medium which would give them a mix of the most important information to keep their business competitive, combined with the courageous, creative and colourful work the industry is involved in throughout the year.

It may be from the horses mouth, but we are breaking new ground with Sign7 News. And while this simply would not have been possible just a few years ago, it is now an exiting new horizon of development.

Another major factor for setting up SignLinkTV was to create a central hub where the industry can easily register, upload and share videos for free. Sign-makers can now document their work and show prospective clients the details of what they can achieve, without giving away trade secrets of course, while suppliers can upload videos on subjects from how to maintain and troubleshoot their systems, to showcasing new technology.

For those who have yet to enter this brave new world, the most basic elements you need to get started are a good idea, a digital camera or smart phone with a video function, a steady surface and free editing software from the web. Once these are in place, the sky is the limit.

While I maybe banging the drum, I can also say hand on heart that our vision for SignLinkTV is that it is for the industry, by the industry, so get out there and do some shooting.