(Full disclosure: Creative Concepts, the parent company of the Business Smart Tools conference, developed and produced the following video.)

Last year, The American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes teamed up to deliver nearly 600,000 holiday cards and letters to members of the US armed services, as part of their Holiday Mail for Heroes campaign. This year, they’re aiming for 1 million cards and letters — and they need your help.

Can YOU send a card or letter to a US serviceman or servicewoman this holiday season?  Whatever your politics, one thing we can all agree on is that no one should be alone during the holidays — and, as the following video makes clear, no matter how far away our soldiers, sailors, pilots and marines are from their homes this holiday season, they certainly don’t have to be alone.

Here’s how you can help.

For more information, please visit the official Red Cross website.

If you’ve visited our blog before, you may notice a slight change in our video style: we’re now posting our videos using Viddler instead of YouTube.

Why? To help showcase your options in the world of web video.

Too often, social media novices (and even some businesses) believe the entire online video experience begins and ends with YouTube. Although it’s currently the web’s largest (and most highly-trafficked) web video site, YouTube isn’t the only option available — and, depending on what you’re using web video for, it may not be your best option, either.

There are dozens of similar video sites available online, offering everything from serialized web shows to interactive videoblogs (or vlogs). While none of them can boast a user base comparable to the size of YouTube’s (at least, not yet), each of them has a few notable perks that might be perfect for your business, promotional or communication needs.

Some of these web video distribution sites include:

Blip TV — Home to some of the best serialized content on the web, Blip TV may be the closest thing the internet has to an emerging TV network.

Brightcove — Their self-contained video player is designed for companies who’d like to create their own topic-centered (or brand-centered) channel.

Viddler — Catering to a socially inclined audience, Viddler allows its users to leave notes, links and responses right inside their fellow users’ videos.

Vimeo — One of the easiest and most family-friendly sites, Vimeo also offers viewers the option to download each poster’s original video files, instead of limiting them to Vimeo’s compressed version.

And, for the best in “how to” videos, check out 5min and Sclipo, which are havens for the do-it-yourself (or DIY) set.

(Bonus tip: If you’d like to save time, TubeMogul is a service that allows you to cross-post one video to multiple distribution sites at the click of a mouse — for free!)

NOTE: This doesn’t mean we think you should stop using YouTube. By all means, keep YouTube in your toolbox — their audience size alone is reason enough to include them in any promotional campaign — but take the time to explore some of these other tools as well. That way, you’ll be even better-prepared to share, communicate and promote yourself and your clients!

Meet Zandile Blay, a young woman who used to work for Seventeen Magazine and left to follow her dreams which began with a blog and an idea or two about fashion. Just another example of the power of social media.

Mike Dunn, VP Interactive, Hearst, shares information on how anyone in business can get started with social media. To contact Mike, go to his web portal, http://glemak.com

To learn more about social media and to understand the terms, please download the Creative Concepts white paper, Social Media 101: A Beginner’s Guide or contact Creative Concepts directly so we can personally walk you through your social media options, info@creative-conceptsllc.com.