Comments on: Video Comments: 5 reasons they DO work

By: Vernon Getzler

Vernon Getzler — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 07:16:23 +0000

thanks for the such a nice article..
========================================
albert pinto
Melbourne

By: P. Smith

P. Smith — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:15:28 +0000

Do you do all your own writing? Or do you outsource some of it? I’m looking for some similar content for my blog! These are great posts!

By: Video Comments on Blogs | Harkins Creative

Video Comments on Blogs | Harkins Creative — Wed, 14 May 2008 02:12:22 +0000

[...] opinions, both FOR and AGAINST video comments, have run amok over the past few weeks. I have already said I like the [...]

By: links for 2008-04-26 | Kris blogt

links for 2008-04-26 | Kris blogt — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:46:11 +0000

[...] Video Comments: 5 reasons they DO work Â¦ Online Media Cultist are not just limited to those with disabilities. Not all your users will be running the latest version of IE/Firefox through a broadband connection. Some will be viewing your content through older browsers, dialup connections, or mobile devices. Why leave (tags: seesmic viddler videoblogging conversations techcrunch) [...]

By: Eric Berlin

Eric Berlin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:15:06 +0000

I don’t think that “blog posts are composed in text” holds as a blanket statement. Many blogs include a lot of text, including this one, but for example I basically showcased two youtube videos this morning. Many blogs are videoblogs nowadays, and of course there are lots of audiopodcasts that are published in “blog” format. So I guess the point is that blogs are published in many different formats, and may include “produced” and “user generated content.” While I understand that it’s not fair that some people may not be able to enjoy some of that user generated content some of the time (with current technology-restrictions — maybe one day uploaded video streams will be able to get transcribed on the fly?). But likewise, wouldn’t it be unfair to limit or prohibit a community feature based upon this factor? The answer to that question is for every publisher to decide, of course.

By: Luigi Montanez

Luigi Montanez — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:23:36 +0000

I think the problem lies in the sudden change of the medium of the user generated content. Blog posts are composed in text, their comments have been in text, but then all of a sudden there’s a Flash video embed in there. It doesn’t supplement the comment (as in “Hey, this post reminds me of this YouTube video:”), it actually IS the comment.

People with disabilities or older browsers know to stay away from video heavy sites like YouTube or Seesmic or video blogs. Some old hacker-types use Lynx (a text-based, command-line browser). They probably read TechCrunch through it, but if they want to view a video comment, they simply can’t.

By: Eric Berlin

Eric Berlin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:30:29 +0000

Luigi, the situation of deaf people was the first thing I thought about. But unfortunately, “user generated content” (i.e. comments in this case) is not always going to be accessible to everyone. Is this then a compelling reason to not offer video comments as a feature? I would argue that it’s not.

I also personally don’t see browser versions and connection speed as that big of a deal anymore. It’s a you-can’t-please-all-the-people-all-the-time kind of a thing. Most people run the latest version of IE or FF, and most people use a broadband connection (see: youtube).

By: Luigi Montanez

Luigi Montanez — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:06:10 +0000

Web accessibility is incredibly important, and something that any practitioner of online media should deeply care about:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_accessibility

For video comments, it’s really simple: Deaf people can’t hear the comments. Going further, blind people use software called “Screen Readers’, and in all likelihood, those screen readers won’t be able to detect and play Seesmic video.

Accessibility concerns are not just limited to those with disabilities. Not all your users will be running the latest version of IE/Firefox through a broadband connection. Some will be viewing your content through older browsers, dialup connections, or mobile devices. Why leave them out of the loop?

By: Eric Berlin

Eric Berlin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:47:13 +0000

Love it, thanks Eric !

By: Eric Rice

Eric Rice — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:12:04 +0000

Heh, the fewer the people that avoid video the better. Those that embrace all forms of media, end up with more practice, more communication styles, and a far broader reach and perhaps, influence in the long run. And you can monetize that.

Since there’s no money in all of this stuff, please, ignore video comments at all costs.

And here comes the emoticon: