The folks at Peer 1 are at it again and as noted earlier this week in theWHIR News they have added a $10,000 contest to make things even more interesting.

Episode 2 of the "Growing Pains" video series is also humorous although not as funny as the first episode I must say. What I would have loved to see is a quick recap of the first episode at the beginning to refresh my memory.

To win the $10,000 grand prize which consists of 12 months of managed hosting at PEER 1 ($6,500 value), an Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch 2.5 GHz Laptop (approximate value $2,500) and a Sony HD Camcorder HDRSR10 (approximate value $1,000) you would need to upload your short video and share your web hosting growing pains, funny dealings in running your online business or troubles in getting it off the ground. If you video is selected you could be a winner.

I have noticed that folks in the Web hosting industry tend to be a little shy so I do hope to see some interesting and laugh out loud funny video entries. Good Luck to one and all and let us know if you submit a video, theWHIR readers would love to give you a preliminary review.

What do you think of this "Growing Pains" episode?

Candice Rodriguez Web Host Industry Review

We are pleased to announce that WHIR TV is now available on iTunes. Watch it on the go by subscribing via the iTunes Video Podcast URL http://whirtv.blip.tv/rss/itunes or Click Here to open iTunes and you will automatically be subscribed.

If you don't have a copy of iTunes download it free here for Windows or MAC.

WHIR TV covers Web hosting industry events and interviews with some of the Industry's greatest minds. We have several upcoming events that will be of great interest to you so be sure to stay tuned.

theWHIR Team

The Web Host Industry Review is now gathering submissions for a special Web hosting directory issue of the WHIR magazine (January 2008 Issue), distributed through 2008 to tens of thousands of hosting customers.

Built around paid-for listings, the issue is designed to cater to Web hosting customers in particular, and will be distributed at trade shows and events throughout the year, including: Search Engine Strategies, Search Marketing Expo, O'Reilly Conferences, PubCon, SMB Nation, eTail 2008, SaaS Summit, AJAX World, Linux World, INTEROP, VMWorld, Domain Fest, Miva Merchant Conference, FOSE Government IT Expo, HostingCon, ISPCON and others.

The directory will include listings divided into categories such as shared hosting, small business hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers, reseller hosting, as well as by international categories. Service providers can place listings in multiple categories.

Hosting companies and related service providers can arrange their inclusion in the directory by visiting the directory website.

Listings are extremely affordable, at $49. Enhanced listings are available, as are a range of display ads, including 1/3 page, 1/2 page and a limited number of full- and double-page spreads.

A paid listing model enables us to ensure the legitimacy of the companies involved, and to distribute the directory for free.

Placement in the directory is available immediately, with a limited number of optimized listings. Submissions must be in by December 7, 2007. Contact us for more details.

I recently stumbled upon a hilarious little video made by the folks at PEER 1. They have produced a short film, viral video, advertisement - whatever you want to call it. They have aptly named the film "Daddy's Little Girl" and it apparently is the first episode in the "Growing Pains" series. Check it out below.

I am excited to see a Web hosting provider get creative with video and use it to their advantage, if even to amuse and hopefully assist in brand recall. We are so used to the traditional data center video tour, this is a good break from the ordinary.

A job well done folks. I hope the video goes far and you get what you wanted out of it because it certainly does not look like a cheap production. I look forward to the others.

Have you noticed any cool Web hosting videos around?

We are lucky this month that the 2 Web hosting industry events we will cover happen to be in the same city and even better in the same location. How convenient for us all. The Tier 1 Hosting Transformation Summit will take place next week from September 17th to 19th, 2007 in Las Vegas at The Venetian Hotel and Casino and the viaVerio Partner Summit follows from the 20th to 21st, 2007.

The Tier 1 Hosting Transformation Summit is in its third year and we are happy to be a media sponsor yet again. Please stop by our booth, pick up a copy of WHIR Magazine and even a t-shirt. Introduce yourself, we are more than eager to learn more about you and any developments at your company.

The viaVerio Partner Summit is a first for theWHIR team and we are looking forward to meeting some of the viaVerio partners.

Click here to contact us and see you in Las Vegas next week.

While at HostingCon 2007 in Chicago last week theWHIR team was on hand to bring you some sights and sounds of the event. We hope you enjoy! Look out for more WHIR TV interviews and coverage of HostingCon 2007.

Microsoft wants you to join them for a special HostingCon reception on Tuesday July 24th from 6:30pm to 9:30pm at Riva Navy Pier - 700 Grand Ave. in Chicago.

The reception promises fabulous food and drink with spectacular views of the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan. This is yet another choice event for you during HostingCon 2007.

Not only good food and drink from Microsoft but prizes too. Just leave a business card at the door for a chance to win an XBOX 360, you must be present to win.

Stop by the Microsoft booth # 309 at HostingCon for a special invitation to this fun night out. TheWHIR team promises to be at all of the official and unofficial HostingCon parties to bring you the sights and sounds of HostingCon 2007.

If you have not yet signed up for HostingCon 2007, there is no time like the present Click here for theWHIR discounted rate. What an event this one is shaping up to be, I expect it to be even bigger than last year.

See you there!

That's right RatePoint, AmbironTrustWave and TheWHIR want to invite you to join us for an evening of food, drinks, bowling, billiards and networking, just minutes away from HostingCon 2007 in Chicago.

This VIP party takes place on Tuesday, July 24th, 6:00p at Lucky Strike Chicago a short walk from Navy Pier. A limited number of tickets are available FREE for web hosting industry professionals in advance of HostingCon 2007. To join us, please click here to RSVP or simply network with a RatePoint, ATW or WHIR member at HostingCon 2007 for your pass into this exclusive event!

We look forward to meeting you at the HostingCon Networking Lounge sponsored by theWHIR, booth # 821. Stop by the lounge for more information or to win one of 2 SlingBox Media Pro devices (watch TV from your mobile phone or PC from anywhere).

RSVP NOW!

View from Lucky Strike Lanes in Chicago:

I happened across some excellent video testimonials at Fastservers.Net and I thought that I would share it with you. Flash video is certainly not new to the web as we are all probably painfully aware but video testimonials are pretty new to Web hosting.

Customer testimonials have evolved and it is great to see. I think the more natural they appear to the viewer the easier it will be for a potential customer to relate and want to try your services. So if you decide to try it out on your website, please let your biggest and brightest clients just do their thing, within reason of course.

I hear that the folks at Fastservers.Net just shipped out some neat little camcorders to their clients and they were pleasantly surprised with what they got in return.

There are several tools that can help you with editing the video both of the free and paid variety (Adobe Premier, Windows Movie Maker and Final Cut Pro for MAC). Once you think you have all the rough edges smoothed out then you are ready to upload to your servers. You can even try some of the viral features made popular by YouTube and others to share or embed the video.

Rackspace Managed Hosting is another Web hosting provider that has taken advantage of the Video testimonial and has done an excellent job of getting the Fanatical Support message across. Have you noticed any other web hosting companies doing the same?

TheWHIR has launched its Web site survey today in partnership with Pingdom.com and we would like to invite everyone to take 5 minutes to complete it. If you do we are offering you a FREE 1 year subscription to Pingdom's Web Site, Server and Network Monitoring service a $119.40 value.

Just complete the survey, once submitted you will be directed to sign up for your free Uptime monitoring account. There are a limited number of free accounts available so act now. The Pingdom.com Web site monitoring service features notifications via SMS and e-mail, uptime and response time reports, multiple global check locations, high check resolution, several check types and no installation is needed. Learn more about their services.

We appreciate you taking the time to complete the survey.