Thing 18: Video Sharing

By Ben Bromley and Amy Schindler

 

There are many ways that videos can be shared and the two primary video sharing websites people are most familiar with are YouTube and Vimeo. Repositories using video sharing post both digitized analog videos from their collection and newly created videos that, for instance, introduce researchers to visiting the repository or are companions to exhibits or collections. The sites support sharing, embedding, and user-commenting on videos.

 

YouTube allows for the upload and sharing of many types of video and is well-known for taking down videos against which copyright claims are made. YouTube is largely credited with making it easy for people to post their own videos online, so that today video sharing and posting is quite common. Like with any site, there are of course downsides and YouTube is well-known for its infamous comments from those who post irrelevant and sometimes offensive comments on videos. Attempting to set itself apart from and as a high-end alternative to YouTube, Vimeo clearly states on its homepage that it is “a respectful community of creative people who are passionate about sharing the videos they make.”

 

Vimeo offers a free basic account or users may choose the fee-based account, which allows more and larger uploads and other options. As with any tool that allows users to pay for an account or use the service for free with fewer options, I suggest you try the free option first especially if you are not certain how much you will use the service. Note that Flickr, Photobucket, and some other photo sharing sites allow users to share short videos as well as still images.

 

Tasks

 

1. Sign-up for an account (YouTube allows you to sign-in using your gmail account) and browse videos from archival repositories or digitized historical films. Comment on, rate, or favorite videos and subscribe to the feed of any users you find interesting. If you are quite familiar with YouTube, spend time on Vimeo this week.
2. Find a video from a repository to share in this week’s blog post. It may be a digitized analog video or a video created specifically for the video sharing site. Llink to the video or embed it in your blog post.
3. Feel free to also share the video in a post on your Facebook account, via Twitter, or another tool we have already used.

 

Optional Task

 

• If you created a video in the previous Thing, upload your video to one of these sites. Note: Like with many photo and video sharing sites, you may limit who has access to your video, whether it is searchable, if people are allowed to comment, and otherwise control access.

 

Blog Prompts

 

• Why did you choose the video you did to share?
• What were your impressions of other videos from archival repositories you found on the site?
• If your repository is already using video sharing, did visiting other repositories’ pages provide any new ideas?

 

Resources

 

• YouTube Help Center videos.
•  EDUCAUSE article: “7 Things You Should Know About YouTube.”
• Need help finding more examples from repositories using video sharing? Check out the list of archives sharing new and historical videos from the Archives2point0 wiki.
• This blog post is written for museums, but its introduction to the ways using YouTube can benefit your institution applies to archives, too:  ”Research Highlights: YouTube 101,” on the Emerging Museum Professionals blog (posted March 23, 2012).