When my colleague and friend Pabsy Pabalan informed me that she was going to cover the 2015 World Bank Group-International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings, I thought she meant producing blogs or writing articles. But her plan was a little more unusual and fresh. Pabsy was on a mission to explore the other side of the meetings, interview participants, and educate a younger audience by producing short daily videos. As someone who is toward the younger side (or would like to think so), I was looking forward to watching videos with a different approach on World Bank Group events. I soon became a huge fan of #PabsyLive.
Almost overnight, PabsyLive was able to connect with a wide audience and leave a lasting impression –with over 100,000 views already, the video series has the potential to become something bigger that what we’ve all anticipated. By watching the videos, I was able to learn about the events happening that day with no reading required! Not only did I get to learn about the event, but I was able to take a glimpse inside, the visuals, the atmosphere – it felt like I actually attended the event and got a two-minute brief via video.
Internet video is growing widely and now with Twitter video and Facebook video tools, social media has been full of multimedia content, especially as a way to educate and engage with various audiences. #PabsyLive, which was the hashtag used on Twitter and social media, began to resonate with a diverse group – millennials/meeting participants, and organizations. @thegirleffect tweeted this video to their 134,000 followers and used #PabsyLive. A number of people attending the meetings voiced their excitement about Pabsy’s videos and wanted to participate and find out how they could learn more. Video is a way to present the key messages in an easy and fun way to captivate viewers.
One of my favorite PabsyLive videos is the one on the “Future of Food” event. Join her as she shares the story of Chido Govera and the unusual path she took to escape poverty.
To watch more videos from Pabsy’s coverage of the meetings, go here: PabsyLive Video Playlist
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