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