01
What actually ages in a recording?
Three things: references to dated events, visible prices and figures that have since changed, and anything tied to a version of a product that no longer exists. What does not age is explanation, opinion and story. A clear answer to a common question is as useful three years later as it was on the day.
02
What ages and what does not
Sort your archive by kind rather than by date. A three year old explanation is more usable than a three month old reaction.
| Content | Ages? | Shelf life |
|---|---|---|
| Explanation of how something works | Barely | Years |
| Opinion and argument | Barely | Years |
| A story | No | Indefinite |
| Prices and figures said aloud | Quickly | Months |
| Reference to a current event | Immediately | Weeks |
| A product version or feature | As the product changes | Unpredictable |
03
Checking a recording before clipping
Watch or skim the old recording with a specific eye for dates, prices, product names and references to current events. Note any moments that would confuse or mislead a viewer today. The rest is usually safe to clip.
Check whether the people involved are still comfortable being associated with what they said. Guests change roles, opinions and circumstances, and a quick message asking if they are happy for an old moment to be shared again is courteous.
A quick search for the guest's name also shows whether anything has changed that should affect the clip.
04
Framing old material honestly
If a clip is clearly dated, say so in the post text: from our 2023 conversation, or looking back at what we predicted. Viewers appreciate the honesty, and it turns a potential weakness into context that adds interest.
For timeless material, there is no need to highlight its age. A clear explanation stays useful regardless of when it was recorded.
05
Picture and sound from older setups
Older recordings may have lower resolution, different lighting or weaker audio than your current setup. Viewers on phones notice sound problems far more than picture quality, so prioritise recordings with clear audio.
A consistent caption style applied to old and new clips helps them sit together in the same feed, even if the footage looks slightly different.
06
Building a plan for the archive
Go through your archive once and list recordings worth revisiting, with a short note on the best moments. Then schedule a few archive clips each month alongside new material.
Start with recordings on topics your current audience responds to most. Their performance tells you whether the archive deserves more attention.
Track archive clips separately in your analytics, so you can see whether older material holds up against new recordings over a few months.
07
Mine what you already have
- Sort by kind, not by date. Explanation keeps. News does not.
- Scan for figures and dates spoken aloud. They are what makes an old clip read as old.
- Start with your most explanatory recordings. They have the longest shelf life.
Pick something from two years ago and run it.
Questions people ask
- Is a three year old recording usable?
- Often, if it is explanation rather than commentary. Age matters far less than whether the content was tied to a moment.
- Does picture quality date it?
- Less than people expect on a phone. Content that reads as dated hurts more than a slightly softer picture does.
- Should I say it is old?
- Only if the age is relevant. Most viewers are meeting the material for the first time and have no reference point.
- Does an old recording cost the same to run?
- Yes. Pricing is per video regardless of when it was recorded, which is what makes an archive cheap to mine.
- Where should I start?
- Whatever you recorded that answered a question people still ask. That is usually the most valuable thing in the archive.