Anyone can create a video and gain access to millions of viewers. 

The barriers to entry consist of nothing more than a video recorder and an Internet connection. 

But the rise of anyone-can-make-a-video has generated a fair amount of dreadful stuff. 

It’s especially challenging for a B2B company to create a video that stands apart from the standard fare. 

By stand apart, I mean a video that goes beyond the inform/educate objective and actually amuses the viewer. I think it’s fair to say that floating-point operations per second (FLOPS), content management systems and field programmable arrays aren’t intrinsically entertaining. 

That’s why a SolarWinds (client) video deserves a shout out. 

Playing off the Dos Equis campaign, “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” SolarWinds came up with “The Most Incredible IT Man in the World.” 

The video shows even an IT management company can bring a little levity to the scene.

I stumbled across a compelling three-and-a-half-minute video with NPR’s Scott Simon sharing his perspective on how to tell a story (video below).

It’s captivating, as reflected in the 43,000+ views.

Before going further, let’s acknowledge that Scott Simon’s voice by itself is captivating. He could explain a recipe for nouveau meatloaf and I’d listen. Plus, anyone who writes about baseball and Jackie Robinson gets a good-egg vote.

With that said, I like what he had to say about storytelling:

• A story should make a point, which is different from a lesson, moral or punch line.
• The beginning should be crisp.
• Give people vivid detail. This is what enables others to repeat the story.
• Maintain a conversational tone.
• Have fun. Enjoy the sense of discovery that comes from storytelling.

The idea of crafting a story in breathable chunks also makes sense (although I can’t say the metaphor of a swim across the English Channel worked for me).

You can find his storytelling in motion on NPR at “Simon Says.”

“Apple is reaching more people in more ways than ever before, so like many companies, trade shows have become a very minor part of how Apple reaches its customers. The increasing popularity of Apple’s Retail Stores, which more than 3.5 million people visit every week …”

I tend to associate infomercials with Ginsu knives and historical videos on World War II.

Obviously, the Barack Obama infomercial that aired last month was not in the order-now-and-get-free-shipping genre.

Putting politics aside, the video comes across as a powerful communications vehicle.

How can you go wrong with world-class production quality, panoramic views of “amber waves of grain” and Mr. Obama’s gift for oratory?

Yet, the element that creates the drama and a true sense of storytelling comes from the people vignettes. That’s what really pulls the viewer through the 30 minutes to hear Mr. Obama explain “why me.”

As a quick aside, B&O Railroad should especially resonate with baby boomers from their Monopoly-playing days.

What politicians know both intuitively and from reams of hard data continues to elude technology companies: The most compelling stories revolve around people.

Before Wall Street Journal reporter Vauhini Vara returned to campus life at the University of Iowa, she shared the following insight during an SWMS interview:

“There is a tendency here and elsewhere to focus on companies that have consumer implications. Pitch stories about interesting approaches in management, or changes that took place in the industry that had an impact how the organization has to move. That allows us to write about people, rather than just sort of writing dryly about technology.”

There’s nothing like contrast to accentuate the telling of a story.

In our “art of storytelling” training I like to discuss the difference between “what was” and “what is.” The greater the delta between these two points the greater the drama in the story.

There’s a terrific example of contrast in Monday’s USA Today profile on Teresa Phillips who heads a new startup venture called Graspr.com.

One doesn’t intuitively associate life on a farm with leading a new video sharing site striving to grab turf from YouTube. That’s exactly why the lead into the story works:

“Since she was a kid hunting and working on a 27-acre farm near the tiny hamlet of Allen, Kan., Teresa Phillips has pushed herself.”

Later, the story revisits Phillips’ farm roots:

“It’s been a whirlwind journey for Phillips, whose family raised horses, cows, mules, chickens, rabbits, hogs and sheep in America’s heartland. Allen (population about 216) is about 40 miles southwest of the state capital, Topeka. When she wasn’t tending to the animals with her six siblings, Phillips doted on her mule, Jack; hunted for rabbits and squirrels with a .22-caliber rifle; and fished.”

It’s all good stuff.

Not only does contrast provide a unique dimension to the story but you gain a sense of who Teresa Phillips is as a person.

It’s also noteworthy that the reporter resists the urge to close with a corny pun around “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” a certain willpower obviously not shared by yours truly.