Multimedia: Videos!

It's multimedia week here at 23 things, that's exciting! Being a citizen of the internet myself, I have seen and participated in the various developments that have taken place online, and how the evolution of technology has allowed for increasingly rich experiences, fostering connections between people all over the world.

The best aspect of this is that it's not limited to type or theme, these tools lend themselves to creation, education, business, wasting time. Changing the world or goofing off, there's room for all of it, and sometimes it can be slightly hard to tell the difference.

Today I will share with you a library-cover of the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" music video. It is one of the most beautiful things to ever be recorded.



The sound is a bit off because the original upload had the sound removed. This calls into play our previous weeks' topic of copyright - I would argue that this video clearly rests in the realm of parody and fair use, but the other thing about technology is that sometimes people let computer algorithms make the decisions instead of human brains, and the computers can't always tell what is an infringement and what is not.

If you've never seen the original, you truly must. It will deepen your appreciation of the  book-cart chase scenes and fake moustaches.


But not all online video is purely entertainment. Some is educational. We had to find a video or a podcast that relates to libraries, and I've got a TED talk from Ron McCallum. Dr. McCallum is a human rights advocate, former Dean of the University of Sydney Law School, and chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He became blind shortly after his birth, and in his talk he gives passionate warmth and insight into the value of stories, reading, and the technology that has allowed his life to be enriched with books despite being unable to see.



I had always been proud of the efforts NBPLS had undertaken (and continues to undertake) by way of accessibility services, but watching this video definitely gave me a deeper perspective. Having our adaptive workstation and audio formats in the library makes it possible for people to read things that they may otherwise not have been able to. It's one thing to know this logically, but to have someone spell out the ways these technologies have enriched his life, a man who has accomplished so much and continues to work on behalf of others, it brings further motivation for the type of services we strive to offer to every patron, and I'm quite glad to have watched it.

I go through phases of being Pinterested.

Pinterest! This week's Thing is rather easy, because I have a Pinterest account already. I signed up for it a long while ago, when it was new and flashy. Despite the fact that I hadn't had a physical pinboard since my teenage bedroom, (which was stuck with drawings and band logos and pictures of Tank Girl and Stone Temple Pilots) I thought that an electronic pinboard might be fun.

It's like imagining out loud. Quietly, yet on display. These are not the clothes that I have, but they are the clothes that I would have, if I were wealthy. This is the food that I would eat, if I liked to cook (or, had someone cooking for me). Elegantly posed pictures of artfully arranged accessories, appetisers, and minimalist furniture. It's fun to look at all the pretty things.

My boards are pretty standard: recipes, style inspiration, crafty things I might like to try someday. I go through phases of using Pinterest regularly, and then drop down again. I try not to get into a feedback-loop of simply repinning what shows up on my feed, unless it's something I actually want to keep and make reference to.



I tend to find most of my fashion inspiration from either attractive young men, or else women who tend at times to dress like attractive young men. No apologies.

Sometimes I think I should re-name my boards or make them more interesting, more niche. Similar to the subject headings our cataloguing department assign to books so we can use keywords to find them, it's good to do that with Pinterest boards. My board names are pretty vague. "Art", "food", "style", and so on. One of my favourite boards and board names on Pinterest arised from when I was looking for reference photos to take to the salon: Tilda Swinton being awesome with mostly great hair. Not only is this an excellent and interesting board name, it is also incredibly and accurately descriptive as to what sort of pins we'll find within.



Auntie and Uncle being awesome with mostly great hair (last Thanksgiving).

Up until now, I haven't followed any library boards! I wasn't sure where to start or what kind of boards I wanted to follow. There are a lot of what some might call "bookshelf porn" on Pinterest. Can I use that term? There are no naked people in these images, so no worries. It's mostly pictures of tall bookcases in some country house or old library with rolling ladders or maybe a dusty chair with a cup of tea waiting. These pictures say: These are the books I would be reading, if I could afford my own dream library.

I decided to check out my library social media supercrush, Lawrence Public Library. (I mentioned their Twitter account a few Things back). They just know how to get things right. A quick search later, and sure enough, they have a Pinterest page! Great balance of readalikes, staff picks, craft ideas, quirky humour, local history, and even a board named "Moustache Party". I followed some of their readalike boards, and also the "Altered Books and Book Art". Pretty sweet!

All your memes are belong to us

Quick! There’s a half an hour left in the week – I KNOW I CAN DO THIS. Someone fortify me with an appropriate meme. A cat at a desk. Maybe keyboard cat? It’s not that kind of keyboard. DON’T CARE.

 

This was going to be a long post, but I decided against that in favour of some more entertaining youtube videos that say a lot of what I would try to, in such a way as to hopefully retain your attention! I care more than is necessary about copyright law. And when I say I care more than is necessary, what I mean is I care more than most people do about the fact that it is MESSED UP, jacked in a way that favours corporate interests over cultural expression, when the whole purpose of copyright legislation in the first place (fair, justifiable copyright legislation) was to encourage creators and artists and smart people of all disciplines to share their work with the world. Many people blame Mickey Mouse. I know, I know, but he’s so loveable. “Don’t hate the player,” he said to me once.  

That video was skewed to the US, but you get my drift. It’s also worth noting that copyright got tighter as it became easier for people to copy things. We don’t do it like this anymore:

 

But collaborative culture, that’s what people do best. That’s what keeps us going. Cover songs, homages, adaptations, “based upon a true story”. We take things and we spin them around in a slightly different way. It’s how we build culture and it’s how we communicate. So much so, that copyright law had to account for it at least a little bit, with fair dealing clauses. But even more so, in the way that people are recognising the cultural and social value of collaboration and sharing. Things like Creative Commons, Copyleft, wikis of all sorts. We make great things when we let people fiddle around with them.

LIKE MEMES! Ooooh, I brought it around, full circle. (15 minutes left!) Meme culture, aside from being silly, ridiculous, often smart and always weird, is an almost perfect example of collaborative culture and identity building, online expression and even maybe art? Memes are the folk songs of our times, our schoolyard rhymes and campfire songs. Who knows who made them, we all made them. They are for all of us. All your memes are belong to us.

And finally, a wordle of this post. I don't know why it's so small! Why is it so small? I am not sure. It's 4:58!