There's been a veritable flurry of web 2.0 activity here at West Ryde. Having just completed wikis yesterday, I've now done the tutorial on online video. Huzzah!
So, I've been a regular user of Youtube and the like for some time, pretty much whenever I've had access to broadband. I really enjoy watching compilations of accidents and pratfalls, a-la funniest home videos. My brother and I will often chat via MSN, sending links to progressively more painful-looking sequences of accidents. Not for the faint-hearted or squeamish, and you really have to know when to stop... It's also great for nostalgia: thanks to those geeks who sit around going through old video tapes looking for ads from the 80s and 90s and uploading them for our viewing pleasure. There's so much old stuff on there you could be watching for hours, if not days.
So, how can we use online video in the local library environment? My colleague suggested that we could get some of the younger borrowers to produce their own video book reviews. That could be a heck of a lot of fun, or a disaster. I thought the idea of an employee orientation video was interesting, but could really be quite cheesy if not done well. The one from Charlotte/Mecklenburg walked a very fine line, bordering on tele-evangelist tackiness. Still, you have to start somewhere, and I'm sure they'll get better with time. If we had the time and inclination we could also throw together some tutorials on how to use the various databases we have at our disposal. Whether this would pay off on a time/effort versus patron interest comparison would be another story. If only one or two people were going to use it, making said video tutorial would not be worthwhile. Unfortunately, shooting and editing video takes a lot of time, even with all of the technology at our fingertips.
So in the meantime I'll keep watching old ads and ridiculous accidents.
1 comment:
It sounds like you are having lots of fun.
Elln (PLS)
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