Check this out! I made something with Youtube!

 I can’t say it’s something I’m particularly excited or thrilled with, but I’ve never done anything with Youtube prior, so as a first attempt, I think it is at least passable.

I find my Youtube experiences entirely centered on viewing; I’m not one to eagerly create video, nor do I see the opportunities to film interesting or amusing moments and leap upon them. This is a major short-coming on my part. I want to be connected and part of the tech-savvy world, to be on top of the latest trends and products, in short, to be in the know. But when it comes to contributing to that “know”, I find I would rather post to Facebook a description or use Twitter to send out a link. Video is something I have an aversion to. It’s partially that I dislike my voice and don’t feel photogenic; it’s also that I enjoy the editing process that writing allows for more naturally. Youtube has a feeling of raw, uncensored and unedited contributions that simply don’t jive with the way I see myself creating media.

That said, I agonized over this short and simple slideshow for far longer than I should have. I’m quite certain a BC film student could make something similar in a matter of minutes, for me it was the work of hours and fair amount of stress. If anything, this exercise has taught me where I land on Youtube – as a viewer, more fully than I had realized before. I won’t complain about having done this, any exercise is worth doing at least once, but I fully appreciate my lack of video skill.

Bringing this back to Postman, I find myself a little frightened. Well, I always find myself frightened as I finish his book, but when looking at it in conjunction with this assignment; I have a growing fear that the medium I prefer to produce in will not be entertaining enough for the masses in the near future. If a video of boy being bitten by his little brother can achieve half a billion views, how can I hope to compete? Or should I even be trying to? People, it seems, are dying to be amused, first by their televisions and now increasingly by user generated content like Youtube. While I think the latter medium is more valuable and honest, it’s still a form of entertainment that distracts.

Youtube proves Postman correct: we are amusing ourselves to death. While this newer form of media is less obviously a tool of moneyed elite to distract the masses, it none-the-less has the same affect. Youtube seems to me to be the next generation of television: a television made for the people, by the people, to distract the people. The silly becomes the sensational and we all have ample access to be amused.