Talking to myself in a public place

First, I’ll apologize for posting late. I spent way too much time messing about with Audacity (a little more on that later) and was in my jammies for the watching of Michael Wesch’s Anthropology of YouTube. Unfortunately, my home DSL connection wasn’t up to the task and I didn’t feel like changing into clothes and driving to campus late at night.

I don’t have much to say about Jennie Bourne’s Web Video. I’ve never given much critical thought to video, web or otherwise, so it was useful for bringing up all sorts of things which I’d never considered. But it was kind of like reading Dear Abby for budding web videographers and I’ll find it most useful when we actually start making videos. It did, however, give me some things to think about when I watched Wesch’s video early this morning.

Wesch’s approach fascinates me because he's so interested in the people who use the technology and how they use it. He’s not concerned with video quality or lighting or compression, meaning that I can understand what he’s talking about. And when he points out that “a large percentage of [YouTube videos are] meant for 100 or fewer viewers,” he makes it clear why he is not concerned with the technological details.

I’ve always kind of disdained YouTube as a way to spend my time. I’d never heard of Gary Brolsma, I didn’t get the references to the Star Wars kid, I had no idea how SouljaBoy got his start and I now understand why someone was carrying a “Free Hugs” sign on campus last week (when I saw it, I just thought it was kind of creepy). I’ll watch some of the videos people share on Facebook, but I tend to skip anything that seems to be about a baby or a baby animal. Unless I personally know the baby or the baby animal. Now I’ve got a whole new approach for YouTube. The whole path of user-generated content to user-generated distribution to user-generated commentary appeals to my proletarian sensibilities. And the videos that Wesch used as examples were often meaningful and topical (He viewed what? 8000 videos in 3 weeks? Better him than me).

Because I had read parts of Web Video before watching the Wesch presentation, I found myself paying attention to lighting, camera shake and background. I don’t remember thinking consciously of any of these things before, but now I’m attuned. I almost wish I could give that knowledge back. But I can appreciate the effort of making oh-so-much. Watching the takes of the student vlogs resonated with me because I have spent several hours tussling with Audacity. It’s not Audacity that’s the problem; it’s me. I shut myself up in a room so no one could hear me or distract me. That was the easy part. I don’t like the sound of my own voice, I slur a word, I end a sentence on a down beat, I let the sentence trail off… The things that can go wrong are endless. I still don’t have anything that I’m willing to share with the public. Yet all those people out there are talking to an unknown audience and just letting it happen. Some are scripted, most are not. And I honestly don’t care if it’s real or fiction; if I can relate, it means that someone out there can relate to me.

I’ll finish with this screen shot from Facebook. A friend of mine posted a question. His girlfriend responded and the public status update turned into a private conversation. It’s still public, of course, but no one else joined in even though the original question is open-ended and (to me, at least) a good party conversation-starter.