On happier subjects...

Let's have some uplifting political demonstration! I love this video. It's an excellent example of how YouTube can be used to spread a message (though admittedly, this particular video originated elsewhere, and in better quality).



I like how easy YouTube makes it to share these things - just copy the code, paste it in, and you're set. It's instantly possible to see exactly how incredible a tool this is for the sharing of video information.

I don't actually have a television at home (or, rather, I have a television, but it doesn't have any kind of antenna): we watch everything off the internet, or on DVD. One of the great things about the internet is the increasing ability to not miss out on things, just because you don't generally watch 'the box'. Last Federal Election, here in Australia? I watched the results all night, straight off my computer. It wasn't perfect - it lagged sometimes, and the quality wasn't great - but it did the job.

While I do like the idea of videoing author talks and presentations in the library, as Mosman has done, I'm not sure how many other applications this kind of technology could have for the libraries. I don't really feel like tutorials, for example, would be worth the time. Most of the people who might be inclined to look at them are the kind of people who either don't have an internet connection at home, or have dial-up, and thus would find it incredibly painful to try and get the thing to load. It is possible to view these things in the library, but our net here is not much faster (all of these videos took FOREVER). And given the staff time, and set up costs (video cameras are getting cheaper, but they're still pretty expensive, and you'll need a decent mic as well), I just don't see it happening for us.

To finish off, I'll share another video. This is not a hugely popular thing, spread everywhere, but it's another example of what can be done. It's a trailer for a short film called Jumpcut, by Rohan Harris. (In retrospect, this is a little embarrassing, because the quality is terrible, and that's not just because YouTube compresses things badly, but there you go). Bonus points for anyone who can pick me out of it... (Now that really is embarrassing).