rss

Tag: "youtube"

4
By Erika Price on September 02nd, 2009

Why are all the Youtube stars from LA?

Youtube was supposed to be one of Web 2.0’s shining examples of user-generated original content. In a world (in 2005) when everything worthwhile was already online and fully consumed, Youtube was supposed to provide us with a new outlet to both create and consume. I know it is hard to recall Youtube’s original intent as a creative landscape, but keep in mind that the site’s slogan was and is “Broadcast Yourself”.

Most of us don’t broadcast ourselves, or watch broadcasts of other selves. The last time I fired up Youtube, I was looking for a free way to stream James and the Giant Peach. Any cute skits or beautiful shorts I discovered thereafter were barely bonuses; they were just tasty little incidentals to be quickly forgotten. Most people go to Youtube to view unoriginal creations- movie, TV and music clips or mashups thereof.

Youtube’s most viewed videos of all time are music videos like “7 Things” by Miley Cyrus and Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music”. My little sister uses Youtube as a combination DVR-Itunes-Pandora player. Nothing original seeps in unless I send it to her myself- and then it’s usually just a video of a cute animal, not a creative work.

Ah, but Youtube does have some high-caliber producers of original goodies! People who put on elaborate comedy skits with costumes, professional lighting and substantial editing. People who pull in millions of views. People with whom Youtube has formed profitable, advertising-driven partnerships. These people are broadcasting themselves. But they aren’t like “us”. They are all from Hollywood.

American Culture • Art • Communication • Consumerism • Entertainment • Featured • Films and Videos • Internet • Media • Networking • Uncategorized • Videos • advertising
Full Story
0
By Erich Vieth on June 10th, 2009

Pinky is Pet of the Week

Would you like to adopt this cat? Pinky was being featured as “Pet of the Week.”

Humor • Videos • Whimsy
Full Story
4
By Dan Klarmann on March 30th, 2009

JREF Censored on YouTube via DMCA

YouTube has suspended the James Randi Education Foundation channel, The FriendlySkeptic. JREF hopes to get it back soon.

From the video information:

To complain to YouTube follow this link
Scroll to the very bottom and click on “new issue”
Select “suspended account” from the options and express your opinion.

Download the video above from MediaFire

The DMCA is a wonderful 1990’s Act of Congress that lets printer manufacturers file a copyright to block third party ink refills in the name of protecting children from pornography. Clause after clause of this act are getting struck down by the Supremes, but still it limps along frustrating mostly legitimate users who run into it.

Anyway, DCMA forces YouTube to suspend an account if anyone makes a claim that something uploaded violates a copyright held by another. Then, after cautious investigation, the account may be reinstated. Technically the filer of a false claim is liable to criminal charges. But this has apparently never been executed.

The closest case I know of was Thunderf00t vs. VenomfangX, where a Creationist made a false claim of infringement on the author of the “Why People Laugh At Creationists” series.

Meanwhile another prominent bastion of proper skepticism has been banned from YouTube.

American Culture • Censorship • Current Events • Fraud • Law • Media • Religion • Science • Videos
Full Story
4
By Erich Vieth on February 08th, 2009

Youtube and copyright

Word is getting around the Internet that Youtube is no longer the wild west. Youtube is pulling down numerous video due to copyright violations. What is a copyright violation? Youtube has published this succinct set of guidelines, including various links for further understanding. It’s a good starting place for anyone tempted to make use of the creative works of others without their explicit permission.

Here’s a hint: “Fair use” doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you want.

Law
Full Story
5
By Erich Vieth on January 30th, 2009

How to download a youtube video and play that flv file.

How can you download a youtube video and then play that flv file on your desktop?

I’ve been wondering how to do this, because I sometimes find compelling videos where I wonder whether they will be available in the future. Here’s one answer. It’s a site by “applian technologies” (not affiliated with youtube) that advises you to insert “pwn” after “www.” and before “youtube . . . ” It’s all free and it does give you an option to NOT download applian’s propriety browser toolbar. The site also offers a stand-alone .flv player for youtube videos that you download. I tried the downloader and the player and they both worked perfectly.

These might come in handy someday soon.

Software • Technology
Full Story
3
Leslie Sanazaro Santi: an upbeat profile of a songwriter and working musician
By Erich Vieth on January 04th, 2009

Leslie Sanazaro Santi: an upbeat profile of a songwriter and working musician

To succeed as a musician who performs your own creations, you need a diverse skill set honed through hard experience. Being able to play an instrument proficiently is merely one part of that package. My recent interview of Leslie Sanazaro Santi reminded me of the many skills one must develop, as well as the immense amount energy one must invest, in order to have a successful career of performing one’s own music. Truly, the performing musician’s skill set includes virtually every one of the multiple intelligences set forth by Howard Gardner.

I first met Leslie Sanazaro more than a year ago, at a weekly farmer’s market at Tower Grove Park in St. Louis (Leslie was recently married and she is just beginning to use her new name: Leslie Sanazaro Santi). While staring at some vegetables, I heard some captivating music about 30 yards away. Helpless to resist the siren song, I walked up toward the sound-source and took a seat on a folding chair. Ten feet from me, a woman rocked on her keyboard bench as she sang and played, her whole body “dancing” with her rhythms and her foot actively stomping out the beats. It was obvious that this was a musician who truly felt her music and believed in it. She had no drum machine nor any other gimmicks. What I heard was straight-forward first-rate music. It occurred to me that she seemed too serious about her music to be playing for an audience of only a dozen people at a local market.

My brother-in-law Steve, an accomplished blues and jazz musician, soon joined me in the small audience. We agreed that we were listening to an impressive performer and composer. After staying for a full set, I told Leslie I enjoyed her music, I handed her $10 for a copy of her CD, “Stars in the Attic,” and I signed up for e-mail updates regarding her future performances.

For the next year, I received mass-distributed e-mails every week or two indicating Leslie’s playing schedule, mostly at venues in or near the City of St. Louis. Eventually, her e-mails indicated that she was going on a tour through Asia, playing dozens of shows before returning to St. Louis. In September, 2008, the e-mails indicated that Leslie had released a new CD entitled “On Your Roof.” It sounded like things were going her way.

About a month ago, I visited Leslie’s site at “Reverb Nation,” to listen to several of her new tunes from “On Your Roof.” Bottom line: this CD is impressive. Her music has ratcheted up to a new level and the clean studio product spared no attention to detail. More than ever, I was impressed with Leslie’s high quality voice work and the sparkling cadence of her lyrics. In order to fully understand my motivation for this elaborate (and yes, glowing) profile of Leslie Sanazaro Santi, take a moment to visit Reverb Nation and listen to a few of her tunes (I especially recommend listening to “Put on Your Shoes” and “Hot and Cold” to hear some of the many impressive things she can do with her voice).

[Part I]

Communication • Education • Video by DI • music
Full Story
0
The American media is horribly dysfunctional but you have the power to change it.
By Erich Vieth on June 22nd, 2008

The American media is horribly dysfunctional but you have the power to change it.

This was the third year I attended the National Conference for Media Reform sponsored by Free Press. This year’s conference was held in Minneapolis. As in previous media reform conferences, I was reminded about many of the hurdles faced by those American citizens who are attempting to get serious and coherent coverage of the news. By “news,” I mean the type of information that is critically important in order to prepare us to make good decisions as citizens (i.e., voting). One of the most distressing things one learns from attending the conference is that very little news is available to those watch local TV “news” and read their local “news”papers.

One of the fundamental principles of Free Press is that there cannot be a healthy democracy without a vigorous news media. The problem is that our news media is sickly, poisoned by rampant commercialism. The modern corporate media is over-consolidated to such an extent that it reflexively kowtows to political power and repeatedly refuses to challenge abuses of that power.

McChesney/Nichols - Part I

Topics covered in Part I:

  • Is the media reform movement paying too much attention to Bill O’Reilly and FOX?
  • The basic aims of the media reform movement.
  • More on Free Press and the reason for the media reform movement.
  • The problem with over-consolidation of the media.

Free Press stands for the proposition that there is no stark divide between journalists and citizens.

Media • Noteworthy • Uncategorized
Full Story
0
By Erich Vieth on April 16th, 2008

Describing yourself in one word or phrase

I wrote an earlier post about describing yourself in six words. Today, I spotted this Youtube video that required the numerous subjects to describe themselves in one word or phrase. This is fun to watch on many levels. I can’t help but want to think that I know many of these young adults [...]

American Culture • Communication • Psychology Cognition • Whimsy
Full Story
3
By projektleiterin on February 22nd, 2008

How to paint the Mona Lisa with MS Paint

Just one word - fabulous.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk2sPl_Z7ZU&[/youtube]
The first time I watched the video I thought, “What can you expect from a picture drawn with MS Paint?” But watch how it unfolds.
Other works of his that I also like: here or my personal choice for president. Or check out the videos where he paints with ketchup and french [...]

Art
Full Story