You probably have heard that Google recently paid a whopping $1.65 billion to acquire YouTube. They obviously see great potential and a lucrative future for this technology. If you haven’t had a chance to explore YouTube, I encourage you to do so (although I warn you that it can be a bit addictive). It’s a video sharing website and it’s amazing how many strange and esoteric things can be found there. Certain videos seem to capture people’s attention and usually the most popular are not the most professional or polished. See Geriatric1927′s videos, for example. I personally love to look-up comedy clips and favorite bands from the 80s and 90s (and it’s amazing how many are there). There are copyright issues, of course… and it’s going to be one of Google’s big challenges, I think, to work those out.
What does this mean to us as library professionals? What are the implications for libraries? The most obvious implication, of course, is that many of your patrons use and enjoy YouTube. The video format is appealing to people. Are there other ways, creative and innovative ways, that YouTube can be used by libraries? I think there are and so do many others — here’s a list of links put together by a librarian at Austin Community College. She highlights ways libraries are using YouTube for marketing, instruction, and entertainment.
Are you a YouTube fan? How do you use it? Have you used it for professional purposes (as well as personal and recreational)?
Comment By: Ruth Solie
November 29th, 2006 at 10:33 am
Google video also has a lot of interesting, bizarre, valuable, trivial, useful video. What is the future of YouTube and Google video — will they remain separate items or conflate into one Google product?
Comment By: Brenda
November 29th, 2006 at 11:17 am
Hi Ruth!
My guess is that they will conflate into one Google product. Anyone else seen/heard anything about Google’s plans?
I also have seen brief mentions of TiVo and this video sharing stuff – so that people could watch the videos they find on their TV screens, rather than on the computer screen. Interesting stuff a-foot….
Brenda