Thing #20 Discover YouTube

This is a link to a Monty Python sketch I liked. I couldn't find the "embeddable player" in the time I allowed myself (quite a long time!) I chose this video purely by serendipity.

YouTube has just concluded its first political debate. It looks as though it was a success. Lots of people watched. You can see lots of the video clips on the favorites page today - nearly all from the debate. There are 67 comments about it on the YouTube blog. That looks like one use libraries might make their own in some way for programming.

I saw welcome videos from colleges - libraries could do welcome to our library services and put the URL on their web page to share it, or e-mail it to a mailing list.

There were video competitions running - libraries could encourage creativity with teen groups, perhaps, just as they do with poetry competitions.

I liked some features of the site. I disliked the clutter. It is hard to search and get anything meaningful - maybe it is cluttered with junk. One person's junk is another's treasure; but...

I can see that it is a site for alternative social and political viewpoints. It seems to be wasting its potential, but it might be a vehicle for social change.

You can sort out your search results by looking at the ratings stars.