The Krafty Librarian notes that NLM now has a YouTube channel. It features health information, contest-winning videos like "Fastest Librarian in the West," and information on events and exhibits.
I'm not especially well connected to the online video world, because I usually can't be bothered to stop reading long enough to watch something. I usually have blog posts and stuff I'm reading when I'm puttering around online, and if I click a video link, I'll have to stop!
It usually takes Felicia Day and The Guild to get me to play video.
But I know a lot of people are very fond of these moving pictures, so good on NLM for providing no-doubt-valuable information in this popular format.
Showing posts with label online video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label online video. Show all posts
Monday, December 5, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Things That Inspire Me
A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette, as usual, has some excellent advice. This is especially timely for the beginning of the school year:
There's also a link to this amusing 15-minute video documentary showing how this was accomplished at Eastern Kentucky University. I'm sure they have a very obedient, if small, student body.
There's no reason we can't all be producing high-caliber cautionary tales like this! I mean, other than laziness.
All back-to-school library orientation sessions should include video footage of librarians murdering patrons who don’t follow the rules.I'm going to get right on it.
There's also a link to this amusing 15-minute video documentary showing how this was accomplished at Eastern Kentucky University. I'm sure they have a very obedient, if small, student body.
There's no reason we can't all be producing high-caliber cautionary tales like this! I mean, other than laziness.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Pick Your Video
Well, we could pretty much see this coming: Netflix is no longer offering a combined DVD/streaming video package for $9.99. Instead, you can pay for either or both at $7.99 each.
Hm. It's not that $15.98 a month is a huge amount, so we could just keep getting both, but the video consumption patterns in my household have changed a lot in the several years we've been Netflix subscribers, so I'm not sure that makes the most sense.
Back in the day, you see, we used to get two DVDs at a time, and we'd watch a couple of movies a week on a regular basis. We were movie-watching fiends!
Then I started library school and wasn't around to watch movies as often, so we scaled back to one DVD, and would usually watch about one a week. That seemed to do OK, so we kept it even after I finished school.
Then we got a PS3, and started playing video games with the hours that would once have been prime DVD-watching time, and then the streaming video came out. These days, even if we want to watch something instead of play games, it's usually streaming video rather than a DVD.
When our one DVD does come, it often sits around for days before we get to it. I'm a little anxious about no longer having that option, because there are still things that aren't available to steam, but I think the most logical option at the moment is to drop back to the streaming-only subscription and see how it goes.
There are other places to get the content Netflix doesn't stream, and if we don't do that often, we may spend less than $7.99 a month on it.
I'm sure Netflix will not refuse our money if we later decide we want the DVDs after all, but I really think we might not even miss them much.
We shall see, I guess. It's all part of the grand adventure that is video access in this exciting age.
I note that not everyone is taking this so calmly. Apparently a lot of people are pretty peeved about the change in terms, but I guess my dwindling DVD use has made me less invested in the subject. Easy for me to say, with my game worlds to suck up all my stray attention!
.
Hm. It's not that $15.98 a month is a huge amount, so we could just keep getting both, but the video consumption patterns in my household have changed a lot in the several years we've been Netflix subscribers, so I'm not sure that makes the most sense.
Back in the day, you see, we used to get two DVDs at a time, and we'd watch a couple of movies a week on a regular basis. We were movie-watching fiends!
Then I started library school and wasn't around to watch movies as often, so we scaled back to one DVD, and would usually watch about one a week. That seemed to do OK, so we kept it even after I finished school.
Then we got a PS3, and started playing video games with the hours that would once have been prime DVD-watching time, and then the streaming video came out. These days, even if we want to watch something instead of play games, it's usually streaming video rather than a DVD.
When our one DVD does come, it often sits around for days before we get to it. I'm a little anxious about no longer having that option, because there are still things that aren't available to steam, but I think the most logical option at the moment is to drop back to the streaming-only subscription and see how it goes.
There are other places to get the content Netflix doesn't stream, and if we don't do that often, we may spend less than $7.99 a month on it.
I'm sure Netflix will not refuse our money if we later decide we want the DVDs after all, but I really think we might not even miss them much.
We shall see, I guess. It's all part of the grand adventure that is video access in this exciting age.
I note that not everyone is taking this so calmly. Apparently a lot of people are pretty peeved about the change in terms, but I guess my dwindling DVD use has made me less invested in the subject. Easy for me to say, with my game worlds to suck up all my stray attention!
.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Be Prepared
I keep saying that I am so over zombies, but they keep pulling me back in and trying to get at my brain. It's their thing that they do, I guess.
So the rest of the world is clearly not over the zombie menace, and I would therefore be remiss should I fail to mention the latest exciting update, which I saw on Twitter yesterday: the CDC's emergency preparedness guide for the zombie apocalypse.
There's a lot of helpful information there. Also exciting, a video contest for 'preparedness 101' for the zombie apocalypse. Make a 1-minute video to "show the world how you are preparing for any emergency (hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, zombies…)" and you could win the fame and fortune inherent in having your video posted on the CDC Public Health Matters blog.
You can also download useful graphics like the following to encourage others:
I like how they say "any emergency," and I wonder how many people are going to skip all the ones we see more often and jump right to the zombies when they make their videos. I probably would.
If you need some inspiration, I suggest a quick viewing of the "NLM & You" video contest winners. These were shown at MLA, and they were a fun interlude before the plenary sessions. My favorite is the first runner up, "The Fastest Librarian in the West."
I lived in NM, so I have to cheer them on. Also, the line about the "mighty fine triangular pen" is awesome.
Now go make a video and prove you're prepared for the zombie apocalypse!
Hey...since they do say "any emergency," I guess I could substitute the horror of my choice. An ogre invasion, perhaps.
I do have to say, I kind of love the CDC right now.
.
So the rest of the world is clearly not over the zombie menace, and I would therefore be remiss should I fail to mention the latest exciting update, which I saw on Twitter yesterday: the CDC's emergency preparedness guide for the zombie apocalypse.
There's a lot of helpful information there. Also exciting, a video contest for 'preparedness 101' for the zombie apocalypse. Make a 1-minute video to "show the world how you are preparing for any emergency (hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, zombies…)" and you could win the fame and fortune inherent in having your video posted on the CDC Public Health Matters blog.
You can also download useful graphics like the following to encourage others:
I like how they say "any emergency," and I wonder how many people are going to skip all the ones we see more often and jump right to the zombies when they make their videos. I probably would.
If you need some inspiration, I suggest a quick viewing of the "NLM & You" video contest winners. These were shown at MLA, and they were a fun interlude before the plenary sessions. My favorite is the first runner up, "The Fastest Librarian in the West."
I lived in NM, so I have to cheer them on. Also, the line about the "mighty fine triangular pen" is awesome.
Now go make a video and prove you're prepared for the zombie apocalypse!
Hey...since they do say "any emergency," I guess I could substitute the horror of my choice. An ogre invasion, perhaps.
I do have to say, I kind of love the CDC right now.
.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
More Video! Yay, in Theory!
So Amazon is now offering streaming video with a Prime membership?
I got a free trial of Prime a few years back and then became addicted to it after I realized the glorious wonder of being able to order people birthday presents a couple of days in advance and have them get there on time with no shipping fees. It saves a lot of having to plan ahead.
Anyway, they have lots and lots of largely older movies available (1,666 as of this evening). Some of them are pretty awesome, you can tell just from the titles: Eyeborg! Dinosaurus!
Plus 484 TV shows.
I dunno, I don't find anything on their list that I want terribly desperately to see at the moment, but if I were bored some afternoon, flipping through pages...it's like having 500 mediocre movie and TV re-run channels at my disposal!
It's like cable, baby!
This is a potentially interesting development in the online video world, since Amazon certainly has the large customer base and processor power to stir things up a bit. Will they tear my affections away from Netflix? Or the PlayStation? Or the occasional time we actually watch TV as it airs?
And all this just goes to show why we don't actually have cable, or any intention of getting cable at any point in the foreseeable future.
I can hardly keep up with the video available for free and/or through subscriptions to existing services. Especially not when I also have video games to play.
Consuming media is a busy job these days.
.
I got a free trial of Prime a few years back and then became addicted to it after I realized the glorious wonder of being able to order people birthday presents a couple of days in advance and have them get there on time with no shipping fees. It saves a lot of having to plan ahead.
Anyway, they have lots and lots of largely older movies available (1,666 as of this evening). Some of them are pretty awesome, you can tell just from the titles: Eyeborg! Dinosaurus!
Plus 484 TV shows.
I dunno, I don't find anything on their list that I want terribly desperately to see at the moment, but if I were bored some afternoon, flipping through pages...it's like having 500 mediocre movie and TV re-run channels at my disposal!
It's like cable, baby!
This is a potentially interesting development in the online video world, since Amazon certainly has the large customer base and processor power to stir things up a bit. Will they tear my affections away from Netflix? Or the PlayStation? Or the occasional time we actually watch TV as it airs?
And all this just goes to show why we don't actually have cable, or any intention of getting cable at any point in the foreseeable future.
I can hardly keep up with the video available for free and/or through subscriptions to existing services. Especially not when I also have video games to play.
Consuming media is a busy job these days.
.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Now for Some Educational Material
ScienceRoll posted this entertaining and educational piece: the ABCs of Multimedia!
You can put the sound on, but it just says the letters as each one appears, so it's not necessary if you just want to see what they come up with for each. (This may not be a concern for most people, but I tend to have my speakers on mute by default so as not to disturb my office mate, and am always interested in whether I need to get out the earbuds for a video or can appreciate it in silence.)
You can put the sound on, but it just says the letters as each one appears, so it's not necessary if you just want to see what they come up with for each. (This may not be a concern for most people, but I tend to have my speakers on mute by default so as not to disturb my office mate, and am always interested in whether I need to get out the earbuds for a video or can appreciate it in silence.)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Visual Learners Rejoice
This is pretty cool: PubMed is now indexing JoVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments.
JoVE, in the site's own words, "is a peer reviewed, open access, online journal devoted to the publication of biological research in a video format." It publishes videos demonstrating research and experimental techniques in categories from Basic Protocols to Immunology, and looks like a really useful educational resource.
I'm totally going to try some of these techniques at home, too. Proper Care and Cleaning of the Microscope? I'm all over it. (OK, I'm lying. I do my part to practice proper lab safety, by not attempting to do anything near or related to labs.)
This announcement back in April notes that inclusion in PubMed "demonstrates the official acceptance of new approaches to science communication, such as video online, by the scientific community," and this really does seem noteworthy. There are a lot of valuable resources that it could be handy to have indexing access to, and not all may be in conventional journal form (to the extent that even a lot of journals are 'conventional' anymore, considering the amount of material on the web).
A not-primarily-print format journal providing the kind of value that merits PubMed indexing suggests that newer media forms are maturing and getting some recognition. Interesting stuff!
David Rothman gets credit for alerting me to this. I mean, I was just about to notice it myself, on one of my regularly scheduled reviews of the entire list of indexed journals, but...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Video, Video, Video!
I have friends who are more heavily into YouTube than I am, but I've certainly enjoyed my share of videos there. As with television, internet videos can be funny, educational, entertaining, thought-provoking, or total garbage.
I've been referred to goofy and mildly amusing videos there, and have also watched documentaries and educational programs, including some videos recommended for classes. I think there's certainly plenty of good stuff there, but I generally wait to hear about it from others since I find trying to sift through the mountains of random junk a little overwhelming.
I understand that there's a social networking aspect to YouTube, since you can befriend other members, subscribe to their videos, check out what other people are watching, share videos with friends, etc., but, again, lack of time to explore has limited my use of this feature.
I mostly rely on out-of-site social networking, otherwise known as people I know who specifically send me links, or finding videos linked on (or embedded in) blogs.
Here's my attempt at embedding a video (Sesame Street!):
I've been referred to goofy and mildly amusing videos there, and have also watched documentaries and educational programs, including some videos recommended for classes. I think there's certainly plenty of good stuff there, but I generally wait to hear about it from others since I find trying to sift through the mountains of random junk a little overwhelming.
I understand that there's a social networking aspect to YouTube, since you can befriend other members, subscribe to their videos, check out what other people are watching, share videos with friends, etc., but, again, lack of time to explore has limited my use of this feature.
I mostly rely on out-of-site social networking, otherwise known as people I know who specifically send me links, or finding videos linked on (or embedded in) blogs.
Here's my attempt at embedding a video (Sesame Street!):
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