Videos Online

Welcome to the latest edition, Online Videos. Let me just say from the outset, I love them! YouTube has changed my life and I search YouTube just about everyday.

Personally I use YouTube to upload videos of my horses. I ride show horses and upload videos onto YouTube so owners, instructors and friends can view the videos and see how the horses are going. It has been a marvellous tool and has cut down on the cost of copying videos and mailing them to people.
This is a video of my young horse at his first competition.


I also thought I would add a video of one of my favourite horse and rider combinations, Isabell Werth and Warum Nicht. This is what I continue to aim for (may need to win Powerball to help this dream going along though).


I have also been known to waste many hours looking at the down right ridiculous and stupid content that is available on YouTube, but in doing so I have also found some gems. This is the Fat Guy sining Numa Numa, a classic video which made this guy and international star. Whenever I watch this video I just crack up laughing.


YouTube is inevitably hindered by the same issues that all Internet available material is. When placing videos onto YouTube you relinquish the control over the video in the sense that everyone and anyone can view and comment on the video. Plus there is the issue of videos being placed on YouTube without a person’s knowledge or consent. I am reminded of an incident that occurred several years ago when a video was uploaded onto YouTube showing a teenage boy acting out a Star Wars fight scene. The boy had filmed the scene for himself but someone else obtained it and placed it on YouTube. Within a matter of days the video had received millions of hits and comments. The boy in the video became so victimised that he suffered severe depression as a result. In the end he successfully sued the person who uploaded the video on YouTube.

We also frequently hear on the news the incidents of “Happy Slapping” where people are physically assaulting others, videoing it and placing it onto sites like YouTube. These are senseless actions which are only able to gain attention through means like YouTube and Google Video as they are free and the element on anonymity means that the people involved are able to relinquish any type of responsibility.

For me the positives of YouTube and Google Video far outweigh the negatives. Both have opened up great possibilities for sharing video files with people. In relation to it use in the library environment I feel that we need to be vigilant in ensuring that if we use this medium we do so with the same scrutiny that we would any other form of publicity. Once uploaded it is out there for everyone to see and use.

Cheers

The Wiki Way

Wiki’s truly are a fascinating phenomenon. They seemed to have appeared from nowhere and all of a sudden have become present in every facete of our internet searching.

I doubt that there is a time now when you do a search through Google and a Wikipedia page for the subject does not appear in the first 10 listings.

In my general searching I have found Wikipedia to be very useful. I generally use it when I am trying to establish my understanding of a subject. I have often found the information on Wikipedia to be extremely user-friendly. Whilst it may not have the theoretical knowledge base at its grounding, it is a wonderful tool for establishing and understanding of a topic.

Recently I had a request for information on a building in Europe. The person who gave me the request knew little more than its name. With the help of Wikipedia, and indeed Google, I was able to establish a few basics to then start exploring in greater detail.

In searching through the Discover list of Wiki’s I have found one in which I am sure to waste considerable amounts of time, Wookieepedia. I am a Star Wars Fan. No I am not one of those people who dresses up in the costumes and goes to conventions, however I think I would make a good Darth Vader, I am one of those fans who truly loves the Star Wars theme and am beholden to the original greatness of the first films.
Wookieepedia has opened up a new world in which the Star Wars saga continues, with Princess Leia’s & Han Solo’s children. Ahhh the marvels of it!

The positives of Wiki’s are that we the general public are able to contribute to information gathering. It is often the case that the person you least expect knows the most. They are usual people who don’t like to broadcast themselves. Wiki’s allow these people to contribute to areas they have knowledge in an easy access environment.

The negatives of Wiki’s are also that of the positives. They provide a platform for know-it-alls to broadcast their version of information all over the world. I have always found accessing medical information over the Internet to be fraught with danger and I always advise against it. I have seen people come to the library to use the internet to find out about a condition they have been diagnosed with and they are usually always confronted with horrible images, misinformation and false understanding.

Wiki’s do seem to be the new “It” search tool on the Internet and with their explosion of use and easy access, it would seem apparent that they are going to be with us more and more.
Cheers for now.

The Adventures of RSS

Well this post is going to get even more cynical as I have just finished typing out my post only to have it disappear when I accidently hit a key on the keyboard. Trying to think happy thoughts!

So, back to the point at hand, RSS. I have been searching the web looking at various feeds and what not and at the end of the day I can’t really see the point. Perhaps I am coming at it from the wrong vantage point but I am a bit miffed about the whole thing.

In a positive light I can see that RSS would have advantages in the Library environment for allowing us to keep our keen and enthusiastic patrons up to date with the latest library happens.

In the negative light I am just not a person who would use this and I can’t really see me being persuaded. For those of you out there who like it Good Luck with it, but I think I will stick to randomly checking in on the few blogs I like and leaving it at that.

For the purpose of this task I subscribed to the following RSS feeds: ESPN; Movie Reviews; Powerhouse Museum Photo of the Day; Shopping Blog; USA Today; Dilbert Daily Strip & K Werner Designs. That reflects the diversity of my palette.

For now, Cheers!