kortina's tumblog

An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube

This lecture runs about an hour in length but is well worth a watch. Covers topics like how video differs from text content, meaning of identity on YouTube and in the world at large, how the physical space and nature of the webcam influences the video blogger, and tons of other stuff.

I’ve been telling friends over the past few months that YouTube is the most transcendant and engaging website I’ve ever used. You can find pretty much any video or audio content that has been recorded there (illegally, yes), but you can also find the most random, niche, and personal content, adjacent to the professional content.

I’ll often enter the site by searching for a Stevie Wonder or Bruce Springsteen song, spend an hour browsing related videos, and end up in a Mom’s living room watching her teach the piano for Thunder Road.

This video points out much of what makes YouTube so personal, emotional, and engaging. Watch the first timers start out embarrassed, talking ot themselves in front of the camera, and then slowly find comfort. So much more personal to see someone’s face, hear them speak, and absorb their non-verbal queues than to just read something they have written.

This is really worht a watch: http://bit.ly/yWFXx

Muddy Waters at Newport Festival, 1960 (video)

His stage presence is glorious.

Herbie Hancock - Chamaleon live (video)

This will make you move.

YouTube video mashup - Kutiman composed songs/album/artwork/masterpiece—something amazing. This set of 8 songs uses video / audio tracks from people recording basement lessons and dorm room performances as instruments in a postmodern orchestra. The video draws attention to each layer of audio and often jumps, cuts, and shocks. I was transfixed all morning watching and listening.

via thru-you.com: http://bit.ly/9oe3D

This is exactly why YouTube is my favorite website.

Tim Ferris on Learning

This video summarizes most of the key concepts of 4 Hour Workweek. http://bit.ly/4hour

I highly recommend this book if you haven’t read it. If you’re not down for reading a full book, spend 17min watching this vid.

How to Cook Tomato Sauce (according don draper of database candidate’s grandma)

So in my quest to win Daily Candy’s “Get with the Programmer” contest ( http://bit.ly/voteKortina ), I had the opportunity to submit a video to lend support to my cause. The suggestions were to play guitar or do some other talent show type stuff, but this seemed silly, so I thought for awhile about what I should do.

I ended up deciding that this could be a great opportunity to share something useful cool not necessarily related to my campaign—I thought,

wow, I could make a lot of people happy by teaching them how to cook my grandma’s delicious red sauce.

So I found an old digicam under my sis’s bed and recorded a lo-fi vid instruction for the recipe.

Part of the inspiration for this idea was spending a bit of time thinking about a dude who makes awesome vids, Gary Vaynerchuck. I looked at some of Gary’s vids, and realized they are so great because he’s sharing something he thinks people really need to know, something he thinks will make people happier and better. So I hope Gary approves and I hope anyone who watches is happier for adding this delicious recipe to their repertoire.

This recipe is dead simple—the trick is not doing too much. Every time I try to get clever, the sauce ends up worse for it. KISS!

The written recipe is on the description of the youtube vid, at http://bit.ly/redsauce

Enjoy.

A Comparison of Digital Music Stores

Just downloaded Ronald Jenkees’ album. $10. Paypal. Zip file of mp3s. Pretty damn easy.

I wonder if iTunes served DRM free mp3s if I would have done that instead? iTunes, Paypal, and Amazon all have my credit card info saved, so they are all just about the same ease. Google search worked nearly as fast in bringing me to point of purchase as iTunes. Still, iTunes has 2 killer features that are going to be tough to compete with:

1. Complete catalogue. Just like I assume every video I want to watch is on Youtube, I assume every piece of music I want is on iTunes. With any competitor if I search for something once and can’t find it, I usually don’t go back.
2. Hardware integration. I don’t have to copy/paste or add to library. iTunes music goes straight to my library and iPod.

Once iTunes removes all DRM and goes to an all you can eat subscription model, I doubt I’ll buy music anywhere else.

Where do you buy your music?

Gary V riffs on lemons to lemonade. Very cool stuff.