YouTube, Replacing the Boob Tube
I think that Flinders is right on when he states, "(his show) illuminates the future of television" (Wired, The Secret World). Because of time constraints, commercials, and the lack of quality shows, I hardly watch TV anymore. I usually download (upload?) my favorites like Lost and Heroes and then log on to YouTube for some mindless entertainment. Quite often my friends will forward me a clip or a "hybrid form of storytelling" (Wired, The Secret World) compliments of YouTube. My life is busy, so YouTube and TMZ give me the quick fix that I need.
Back when I lived in LA (1998-2002), YouTube didn't exist and my friends and hair clients didn't have a medium to showcase their work. Now when I type in a search on YouTube I can find my friend the casting director's commercial, my hair client the writer's sitcom pilot, my friend the editor's movie trailer- even the music video that I did the hair styling on.
It is a whole new ball game and it looks like Flinders has covered all his bases by partnering up with a lawyer who gives free legal advice on copyrights and false advertising. He also seems to know how to play Hollywood execs and has a pulse on what his audience wants. Whether or not Lonelygirl15 lives a long life, he will be remembered as a pioneer of the new age of Web broadcasting.
It is amazing to me the things we can capture on our cell phone these days. It'll be interesting to see how the videos, "shot with cell phone cameras" (Inside Higher Ed) will hold up in court. While I believe the security guards are guilty of abusing the student, I do see how a video that only shoots a portion of the scene can be misleading and by posting it nationwide, creates a huge and somewhat unfair bias. But hopefully the truth will prevail, video or no video, and justice will be served to Duren.
Comments
I liked your point about whether or not cell phone videos will hold up in court. There is definitely a big chance of those videos only shooting half the story. And it's cool to hear that YouTube has opened up some means of distribution for the projects of you and your friends. I think it's the greatest way that YouTube and such services are used as tools.
Posted by: tcarr | April 22, 2007 4:22 PM
That comment about Youtube replacing TV is interesting. I know my uncle has told me that he doesn't even watch much TV anymore because of Youtube. I've gotta wonder if someday years and years into the future, the internet will simply replace TV as the primary form of entertainment for our culture.
Posted by: Carl Cassel | April 22, 2007 5:13 PM
I think that you make a good point about how it's more entertaining to download material from the Internet and watch clips from YouTube than watch TV. I think that it gives viewers more variety as to what they want to watch. It also gives more power and control of what the viewer wants to watch unlike TV programs where they are preselected. However, I do have to say that watching TV is somewhat easier because all you have to do is turn on the "on" button, there's some, but little searching involved, and you don't have to keep searching for new material every couple of minutes. Unless, of course, you're really picky about TV programs! :)
Posted by: Natalya Goncharova | April 22, 2007 6:28 PM