Wednesday, December 19, 2007

YouTube? MeToo.

The very first time I ever YouTubed for was not for entertainment but instruction. I wanted to see what kayaking in Alaska might be like, and what riding a zipline would entail. In both cases, I was able to quickly find and view clips recorded by people doing those very things. Some were very short and/or poorly done, a couple were slick professional "commercials," but others were just what I was looking for. Searching YouTube for "Queens Library" brings up just a few clips of library programs now, but I think it would be a great way to commemorate, document, share and generally "talk up" what's going on in your community library. (Insert boilerplate admonitions about filming persons/minors without permission, etc., here.) It might be a while before there's a widespread library-related use for YouTube, only because we still have waaaay more computer-access demand than we do supply, but outside the library, I personally know scads of preteens-and-up who are making their own suspense movies, exploring film editing and special effects, and generally learning a lot while they think they're just goofing around.
The other lovable thing is that YouTube's a "wayback machine" that takes you anywhere you remember on TV. Old cigarette commercials? Check! Captain Kangaroo? Got him! I know these things can be acquired commercially, or viewed in the Museum of Television and Broadcasting, but that avenue is for the serious researcher. For the casual dabbler in nostalgia, YouTube is awesomely handy.

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