#78: Video

The assignment: play around with video search engines such as Truveo and Blinkx. Be careful and try not to lose yourself in the online video vortex.

I happen to get lost easily (see post #31: Maps Are Not My Forte), so I'm not very opinionated about which video search engine I use. Since it's Groundhog's Day, I decided to look for the graduation-from-boot-camp scene in the movie "Stripes", starring Bill Murray. YouTube and Truveo worked equally well with my inquiry, finding the correct movie snippet right away. The first hit from Blinkx, though, was some sort of animation contest entry which I immediately regretted watching, followed by a number of interviews with Harold Ramis and a movie review posted in 2007 by Joe Ordinary. Also, most of the Blinkx hits on the first page of search results were YouTube videos, so I wondered why I should prefer Blinkx to YouTube. When a compelling reason occurs to me, I'll let you know.

In my opinion, the biggest frustration with online videos has nothing to do with which search engine is employed. It's the whole buffering problem. What does one do while waiting for that video to finish buffering? wikiHow suggests visiting their site and learning a new skill, such as how to become a bountyhunter or how to survive falling out of an airplane.

Harris County Public Library has a YouTube channel where there are lots of library videos. I was surprised by the variety of things to see. In addition to children's stories read by staff, branches have recorded presentations by guest speakers, special events, and more. It was interesting to browse the uploads and see everything from a Mariachi band to the Pileated Woodpecker who seems to have adopted Northwest Branch. Some of the videos are quite silly and entertaining, like The Henry Houndog Show, and How Not to Reserve a Computer.

I wonder if it would be useful to record a short video tour of our branch. Since it's rare that we have time for orientation before opening, staff from other HCPL branches might appreciate an opportunity to virtually familiarize themselves with the library, before working a Sunday shift. Or, they might prefer falling out of an airplane.