As Mashable reports today, YouTube has added greater audience engagement options with the widespread launch of Google Moderator. Previously in testing, Moderator is now available for inclusion in all YouTube channels.

Taking the “comment” function a little bit further, Moderator allows a channel owner to pose a question or topic to viewers, who can then respond with their own feedback and questions.

How To Set it Up

• log into your YouTube channel
• click on the drop-down menu just under your channel name, and choose “my channel”

• on the TABS on the upper left of your screen, choose the “MODULES” tab
• on your Modules choices, click on “Moderator” – you’ll get a screen of Moderator options to set up, like this one:

From here, choose a Title for your conversation, and under “Description” add in the particulars. For example, are you asking viewers to suggest topics for future videos? Or asking them to rank or vote on a set of current videos? Or vote for a “winning video” in a contest?

Once you’ve outlined what you want to know,  choose the type of submission you are looking for from the following three options:

• Questions
• Ideas
• Suggestions

Last step -  set up a start and end time for your posting. NOTE: be sure to click “save changes” once you set up all Moderator details, or your Moderator post will be lost! And also make sure you "save changes" on the top of the page on the tab where you clicked to add "Moderator."

So, what do YOU think about Google Moderator? You can try it out now by posting comments on this topic on our own “ndpagency” YouTube channel!

(Shaun Amanda Herrmann)

Thanks to the new ownership of our local Ukrop’s grocery stores, central Virginia Girl Scout Cookie addicts may have to look a little harder to get a cookie fix. You’ve probably heard by now the chain’s new owner, Martin's Food Markets, has a policy preventing sidewalk vending at its stores (full story at http://bit.ly/bPWVeN).

But thanks to a national Girl Scout social/online media campaign, you can still find a source to feed your need (hint: check out http://www.girlscoutcookies.org/ and plug in your zip code to find your nearest Girl Scout Council).

The campaign includes a YouTube video (http://bit.ly/brGElx) and microsite. The online video feels a bit more like a TV spot, or a multi-purposed TV spot, but it does clearly convey the idea cookies do more than just taste good. Apparently “every cookie has a mission.” And no, it’s not to satisfy that sweet tooth, though let’s agree right now that is an inherent cookie trait. It’s actually “to help girls do great things.”

At this writing, the video has just over 15,500 views. But I wonder what would happen if they targeted the promotion to Ukrop’s markets and called it something like “find Girl Scout cookies now!”

You have to admit the use of social media for cookie sales promotion is a no-brainer, though I’d have personally liked to see something with a little more humor to kick up those views. And I’d have put some dedicated Twitter and Facebook cookie-presence in the mix (all I can find are general Scout accounts). I hope they’ve plastered the microsite address all over the place – even on cookie boxes. They may have – I just haven’t snagged my own thin mints yet to find out…. Let’s see, enter zip code…..

(Shaun Amanda Herrmann)