Saturday, September 24, 2011

Learning 2.0 Activity #4 - Video

Having used YouTube on many occasions, I decided to check out Vimeo instead.  To quickly try viewing a popular video, I clicked on "Sub City Paris" and wasn't sure what to expect from a site that proclaims it has the "best tools and highest quality video in the universe."  It seemed to take forever to buffer (or at least much longer than most YouTube videos), but upon further examination I realized the video was in HD, which takes up more bandwidth because it is a bigger file.  That and I was viewing it from home, where my connection is a lot slower than on campus.  These are things that videographers and website managers (and those working on them for library websites) need to keep in mind.  The wait was worth it - beautiful, crisp, clear, colorful shots of "that moment of uncertainty and magic that happens when you emerge from the depths of the subway system,"  all set to a perfectly accompanying piece by Duke Ellington.

Upon searching for videos that would be library-related, I found the first sign of the YouTube effect: just because there are a lot of videos, does not mean that there are necessarily more higher-quality videos - enter "Library Olympics." Home movie quality, only sort-of entertaining content.  A video that DOES relate to libraries and offer another way that libraries can utilize this technology is the Green County Public Library's Book of the Week series.
04/19/2010 - Book of the Week from GreeneLibrary.info on Vimeo.
If you click on an individual video in this series , there is a link underneath to help you request the book from the library and another link to subscribe to the video series.  This is a great way for libraries to connect with the online community and bring people into the library to pick up the book - GENIUS!

As opposed to YouTube, which seems to cater more towards the entertainment factor of videos, Vimeo appears to take a more educational approach - building an online "learning community" by including the Vimeo Video School with tutorials and tips; and community forums where videographers can share ideas or hook up on projects.  I like that I could go to either of these places for help from people who probably have been where I am at one time or another.

1 comment:

  1. I'm not a big user of Vimeo. I like the way the library is using videos for reaching out to users. This is a great idea and I hope it takes off in the future. It's also be a great idea to record programs going on within the library. I enjoyed the book review! Good find!

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