This change is largely about improvements in technology - digital video cameras are much more common (including on standard digital cameras and mobile phones; most new laptops include a built-in web cam), high speed Internet access is more common (important for watching videos but also for uploading them to the Internet), video editing software has become far less expensive (often free online or pre-installed on newly purchased computers), and online storage (server space) has dropped dramatically in price. That last one, the price of online storage, has been revolutionary - without it, companies like YouTube would not be able to host videos from millions of users without charging the viewers a cent.The (relative) ease of creating video, uploading it to the web, and storing it in an easy-to-access environment impacting the way our society gets its news. Think about it - anyone with a digital camera can capture a news event on their mobile phone video camera and save it to an online video account. How many times have you heard nighttime news outlets showing (or indeed asking for) amateur video clips.
A little history: YouTube vs Google Video
Back in 2006, YouTube clips were limited to 10 minutes in length. At that time Google video tried to compete by allowing longer videos. In October 2006, Google bought YouTube so it then owned the two most popular video online hosting services. YouTube's popularity continued to grow and in 2009 Google retired Google Video.
In July 2010, YouTube allowed unregistered users to now post clips up to 15 minutes in length. Many organisations have YouTube channels where they can post much longer length programs. In March 2010 the Indian Premier League allowed free viewing of all 60 cricket matches via its YouTube channel (each match/video was 3 - 5 hours in length).
Video Embedding
All YouTube videos offer code that allow you to embed a video (it doesn't have to be yours - you can embed any video you find on YouTube) on your website or blog. Look below where I've embedded the video Information R/evolution.
Click on the play icon to start it up, press pause to make it stop.
The ability to embed video means you don't have to direct visitors away from your site - traditionally visitors would have to be dircted to the original site hosting the video, via a link for example.
Now, please understand that it's not just serious stuff - reporting, politics, education, web 2.0. There's thousands and thousands of fun, even useless, videos on YouTube for your watching pleasure, for example the Muppet Studio YouTube channel.
Discover: Try searching these examples in YouTube:
- "lego"
- "Perth, WA"
But what about libraries? Check out A Librarian's 2.0 Manifesto, What is the future of the library? and Library of the Future in Plain English. Can you find any other interesting examples?
Many universities and some libraries have their own YouTube channels. Look at:
- Curtin University
- State Library Queensland
- National Library of Australia
- Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library (US)
Explore: Libraries can use online videos for a whole raft of marketing, information and fun reasons. How could you see your library using online videos? What is something that your library can do, that is different from the videos we have seen here.
This week, write a blog post of at least 100 words and embed a video into your blog post.
To embed a YouTube video into your Blogger blog:
- Find a suitable video clip (try to keep it family and work friendly)
- On the YouTube page under the clip is an "Embed" button. Click on the button.
- If the owner of the video allows embedding, a new box will open with a lot of code in it.
- Select and copy all of the code in that box.
- In your blog, paste the code where you want the video to go.
(Hint: make sure when your are editing your post that you are editing in "Edit HTML" mode and not "Compose" mode)
WARNING: If you start watching the Muppet Studio YouTube channel, it will be nearly impossible to stop.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya ... gotta love those muppets!
ReplyDelete