5
Social Chapter Video
Videoblogging & YouTube
n the past year, viewing and creating video for the Web skyrocketed to the top of many Internet users' lists. The popularity of YouTube, Google Video, and other sharing sites, coupled with the ease of using video technology, has unleashed the hidden auteur in many people. Now, devices such as the Apple TV pull YouTuhe content into consumers' living rooms, "viral" videos such as "Kitten Playing Piano" move around the world at lightning speed, and practically anything one might want to view is available on thriving video-sharing sites. Libraries are tapping into this phenomenon in a number of ways; videoblogging, creating a library presence at sites like YouTube. and offering tibrary users the chance to contribute their own video content. It's all an example of that thread of participation we've seen with the other tools.
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Videoblogging
Just as podcasting is a form of audio blogging, adding a short video to a hlog post for syndication via RSS is yet another way to add content to the Web. Because it's blogbased, videoblogging affords the same useful features: comments, trackbacks and an archive of previous posts. For more about videoblogging, including examples and links to resources, visit David Lee King's blog (listed in the Resources box at the end of this chapter).
to name it "Invention of the Year."' Lev Grossman noted that YouTube's popularity grew at the intersection of three revolutions; the revolution of failing prices and ease of video production, the rise of Web 2.0 sites as communities, and the cultural shift away from the mainstream media. Grossman commented; "Consumers are impatient with the mainstream media. The idea of a top-down culture, in which talking heads spoon-feed passive spectators ideas about what's happening in the world, is over. People want unfittered video from Iraq. Lebanon and Darfur-not from journalists who visit there but from soldiers who fight there and people who live and die there."Recentty we've seen viral videos such as OK Go's treadmill music video, viewed by 20 million users, and the recent Democratic presidential candidates debate featuring questions from Americans via YouTube.^ This site-or community-is a perfect example of how the nature of promotion, reporting the news, and making personal connections has changed in the tast year. How are tibraries involved?
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YouTube in libraries
In 2003, my team at the Saint Joseph County Public Library in South Bend, Indiana, made a video set to Madonna's "Ray of Light" (see figure 15). The video followed a fast-motion day in the life of the library. Roughly 200 people saw the video at our Staff Day. In 2006. I uploaded it to YouTube when Warner Brothers Music and YouTube entered into an agreement to allow users to mash up Warner artists on YouTube. Since then, it's been viewed over 30,000 times. Librarians and others have commented on the video, including someone who wanted to work at SJCPL! Videos such as this one become marketing tools for finding not only patrons, but also potential hires. tVlight new graduates looking for a
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing community site. Like Fiickr, users can "favorite" videos, subscribe to feeds of videos, comment, and make connections. The popularity of YouTube exploded in the last year or so-leading Time magazine
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MS: How has your user response been? How did you get patron buy-in or use? How did you market the videoblog? IL: Response has been good, but, of course, we'd like to see it better. We have approximately 220 views per day. People who watch the LibVlogs like them. But we need to get the message out to a greater portion of the community. Our marketing was a soft rollout. We waited until we had a few under our belt and felt comfortable with the product and then advertised for a few days. We have also advertised since, after we won an InfoTubey award. Our reguiar Monday segment (a "What's Happening" this week at the library segment) always starts with a Man on the Street Introduction from someone in the community. This has created a buzz--community members are looking out to see if some-
one theyknowwill appear. We've been "blogged about," which has created more buzz. And a really cool thing we did was creating a banner to put on the bookmobile that advertised the LibVlogs. We can directly correlate marketing efforts (advertisements, newspaper articles, blog entries, etc.) with viewership spikes. Something that has evolved from the beginning of the project, and is working toward marketing and user involvement, is a deeper integration into our Web product. For each LibVlog we try to add "value added" content to the LibVlog Web page. For exampie, a saving on taxes video was tied to other available resources in our library. We are starting to "repurpose" video segments so that they appear on pertinent pages as well. For example, a piece on our E5L offerings pointed the user to our Literacy page. We put the video on the Literacy page, too, for those users not coming through the home page. We will be striving to add pertinent video components on all relevant pages in the future. We have aiso been evolving our pieces to contain more community content. For a recent local election, we produced a "meet the candidates" video, which received a strong response in the community. These timely community pieces have also proven to be popular and increase viewership.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS
Promoting the vJdeobiog at AHML.
tech-savvy, cutting-edge tibrary search YouTube for possibilities? Could libraries create recruitment videos for marketing to new LIS grads? The possibilities of video sharing seem endless. Other libraries have discovered the power of the video-sharing community as well. The librarians at Gail Borden Memoriat Library in Elgin, Illinois, recently hosted "Storypalooza,'" which gathered user-created videos; Atthe library web site www.gailborden.info/video extras.htmt, we are using YouTube to help us tell stories about the tibrary and reading. This January and February, with sponsorship from First Community Bank, we're asking everybody in our library community to pick up their cameras and join the visuat storytetting fun. People of at] ages are invited to upload a 4-minute (or shorter) video to YouTube. Then send a link to us, for entry into one of two categories; "My
Favorite Book," will be for those who want to tell about their favorite book; or "Community Favorites." about supporting the art of verbal storytelting. This should involve filming a short, uplifting piece about a person, organization or event that has made a difference in the community. Videos can be funny, poignant, clever or coot, and they must be library-appropriate.* The Denver Pubtic Library recently mounted a simitar contest for teens. Teens were invited to create videos about their use of the tibrary. The teen eVotver Web site exptained the contest; "The theme of your YouTube video should be 'How I have fun at the Library' and should include the following: a scene in or outside of a Denver Public Library, the words 'Denver Pubtic Library,' and mention of the eVolver site."^ The Storypalooza and Denver projects tie together many of the principtes of a 2.0 world: harnessing the
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'Ray of Light" St. Joseph County Public Library Version
and believes this is the best to way get buy-in. "I also hope that we have inspired other staff to give this a try. This was really the whole point. To show others that this can be done and that it is fun. "I think the user response has been very positive," Robinson told me as welt. "People leave comments, and other organizations have asked how we did certain things," He also detailed the library's marketing strategies: "Marketing was a little interesting. We put the videos up on YouTube, but I also e-mailed people and asked them to check out the videos. 1 am lucky that I have some friends that write blogs that many people read, and they posted these videos on their blog. I also have a blog and posted it there. I think that this helped. 1 was very nervous about sending these requests out, but people have been very supportive and I think that after you have put many hours into creating something you really want to share it."
Figure 15 Library video on YouTube.
A Video Caveat
collective, encouraging user creation of content, citizen journalism, and marketing. It's a benefit in many ways for libraries to explore this type of endeavor: users are welcomed into library spaces to create content AND marketing the library becomes the realm of not just the publicity librarian, but everyone, This chapter has detailed some innovative uses of video. but there is one caveat Time and money are needed to make this type of video. Smaller libraries with fewer staff members and less funding might explore other ways to establish a multimedia presence, Podcasting, screencasting, and videoblogging are still within the reach of any size library that has access to a bit of equipment and some time. As prices for inexpensive video cameras fall, we may see all sorts of productions from all sorts of libraries. For more about libraries and video visit the Library Videos blog (listed in the Resources box).
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ACPL & the Library Zombies
I spoke with Sean Robinson at Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, about YouTube.^' His library has been doing a series of engaging, funny, and useful videos for users and for other librarians. Takeoffs on the Apple vs. Mac ads, a gorilla running through the library, and zombies attacking are all part of the ACPL What You Can Do Now repertoire. "YouTube allows us to really give a voice to our organization and share the services that we offer," Here are some steps you can take now to begin using the he said. "It has caused us to cross departmental boundar- ideas in this chapter: ies, and 1 think that this has had a positive effect for our organization." Check out some of the videoblogs and libraryVideo productions at ACPL are created by staff produced videos at YouTube. Create a YouTube acfrom various departments. They might involve just two count to comment on videos and select "favorites." or three staff or many more, depending on the project View some favorites at a staff meeting and discuss "The Zombie project is perhaps out largest," Robinson the feasibility of creating video for your library. acknowledged. Robinson uses Final Cut Pro for video What events might you highlight? What interediting, open-source option Audacity for sound, and a views could you do? basic digital video camera. Look for ways to involve the community. If you What of staff buy-in? The librarians just dove in after can't produce your own videos, ponder having a the okay from the library director. "After we were finished contest for library users to create videos about the with the production we shared it with the staff." Robinson library and submit them to you via YouTube. said. He's received very positive feedback from the staff
Notes
Resources Allen County Public Library Videos
www, you tube.com/user/askacpl 1. Lev Grossman, "Best Invention: YouTube," Best Inventions 2006.TimeWebsite.www.time.com/time/2006/techguide/ bestinventions/inventions/youtube.html (accessed July 26, 2007). 2. Ibid.,www.time.com/time/2006/techguide/bestinventions/ inventions/youtube2.html (accessed July 26, 2007). 3. "OK Go-Here It Goes Again," on the YouTube Web site, July 31, 2006, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI (accessed Ju!y 26. 2007); "Democratic Candidates Face Off in YouTube Debate," National Public Radio, July 24, 2007, available on!ine at www.npr.org/templates/story/story .php?storyld=12192896 (accessed Ju!y 26. 2007). 4. Storypalooza Information, Ga...