I got to fiddling around with live streaming video today. (In this case I was messing with Ustream.tv.) Some things are very long, and videos of them might not be watched due to length. But if live, one could tune in and tune out at any point during the event.

Anyway, it really got me thinking, and wondering…

What events, activities, information, or other stuff would YOU watch if it were offered live?

Would you watch the Central Iowa Bloggers meetup at PaneraU every first Friday, if you couldn’t make it? I would probably tune in if I couldn’t make it.

Would you watch the Big Dream Gathering? I didn’t know about the first one and couldn’t make the last one, but was very curious about it. I might have watched, at least part of it.

How about the IowaBiz.com Breakfast held every month? It’s early in the A.M. and might be tough for some people to attend. Would you tune in live?

What about McLellan Marketing’s Branding Breakfast? I’ve (shamefully) never been and would at least like to see what I’m missing.

What about your church service if you’re sick. Or a seminar if you couldn’t get away from work? How about events at the Iowa State Fair? Maybe your city council meeting?

What about daycare, would you tune in to see what your kids were doing? What about classrooms?

What else (or who else) would you watch live online?

If you’re a business, how could you leverage live web-based video broadcasting?

Don’t be shy. Post below… we’d all benefit from your ramblings.

Over the years I have used a wide variety of web hosting providers for my clients and my own projects. Out of half a dozen hosts that I have used, I can personally recommend only one.

In fact, I recently switched over about a dozen sites to it after hosting them with another provider for over a decade. When I switched, the customer service rep asked “What features does your new host provide that our company does not?” Waiting for the question, I already had an answer. It’s not features (they’re all about the same) it’s customer service.

When there are problems, most hosting companies deliver the runaround at best, or dead silence at worst, with no indication as to what the problem REALLY is or when it might be fixed. This company not only gives straight answers, but they also offer them up without inquiry on their support blog (and RSS feed). I can’t tell you how many times I found out there was a problem by reading the RSS feed. This transparency really impresses the heck out of me.

As far as features go, I won’t go too far into geek speak, but they offer 200 GB of storage, 2 TB of monthly bandwidth, and a ton of software that is ready to install at the click of a mouse. The ease at setting up a WordPress blog is the best I have seen. The tools for managing your hosting accounts are some of the simplest to use… and unlike the famous “Go Father” (you know who I mean) hosting company, they’re not trying to upsell, cross-sell, over-sell, or really sell anything. They just provide an honest service at a great price.

Who are they? They’re DreamHost. If you’re in the market for a new hosting company for your web site or especially for your WordPress blog, I highly recommend them. Oh, and here’s their customer support status blog, if you’re interested in what proactive customer service looks like.

Full disclosure: If you click that link and sign up, I will get some monetary compensation. Every hosting company I can think of offers their customers an affiliate program like this, and I’m not doing one of those pay-per-post things… I’m just taking sides and telling you who my choice is. I’m sure you’ll be equally as impressed.

One of my favorite ongoing viral video campaigns is Blend Tech’s video series, Will It Blend?

In true guerrilla marketing fashion, they regularly release a new video featuring the company’s president using their product in highly unconventional ways.

(Feed readers be sure to click through for the video)

I enjoyed this video, and take comfort in knowing that not only does my wife not buy such things for me, she also doesn’t expect them in return. I guess that might be considered bad news for Blend Tech… although they do say “don’t try this at home.”

If you haven’t seen the series, be sure to check out their YouTube channel page. They blend everything from broom handles to footballs… light bulbs to iPods… iPhones to crow bars… and everything in between.

These are fun, but it leads me to my question: In what ways could you use your product or service in a unique way that would generate attention and get people talking? Any ideas? Post ‘em! If not, ask… maybe we can all help you come up with an idea!

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