Greetings. Here are some purely personal thoughts about green video and the internet, which may or may not be of any use, dont let me put you off a worthy mission...
There are quite a number of dedicated people now making green-related video shows for the web. They are often totally independent on their own sites, or they are either loosley or strongly affiliated with one of the new breed of video hosting sites or would-be new media networks. I havent seen so much of the mass user-generated you-tube like sites focussed on green stuff, although its quite possile that some exist and Ive missed them. Certainly there are some social networking sites that are dedicated to all things green and sustainable, and they are perhaps more likely to get a critical mass of users to make the thing work, if many of those users contribute stuff other than video. For whilst there is no doubt that there has been an explosion in the number of people posting videos on the web in the last few years, its still something that can be offputting for a lot of people, for many reasons, so it can be harder to get the quantity of user-umbitted content that you might initially think possible when planning a site like the one you'd like to do. A lot may depend on how broad a site you are aiming for. There will probably be no end of green sites in the future, as these issues are only going to get more pressing as time goes on, so it could be an idea to specialise somewhat. eg if green buildings are your main field, maybe focus on that. If you are more into the pragmatic business side of sustainability than the radical campaign side of things, it may be wise to make the site stay roughly within the same boundaries. 'build it and they will come' does not always apply on the net, so it could be worth takings things a lot further with all the people you already know,w ho have told you they want a place to post video, photos etc. Need to see what they've actually got, and whether they are likely to be repeat contributors or more likely one-offs. For example I am passionate about green stuff, and specifically saving energy, but for various reasons Ive only managed to make a few videos that were not professional enough for my own tastes, and I literally ran out of things I was able to show-and-tell quite quickly. I just wouldnt want you to find yourself stuck in a vacuum, with there not being enough 'average user' material submitted, and everyone who has more skill, time etc to put into video, already doing their own shows. But like I said, dont let me put you off, its just a case of finding the right formula, and net video in 2007 is a funny thing because sometimes it feels like there are more video hosting sites than there are people making their own videos. There is a real interest in green stuff that will only grow with time, and I certainly want to see stories from everyone who has been able to put a little green into their life, however theyve done it. Its just Im not sure how many of those people are also ready to make the videos themselves, whether the lack of an appropriate site is whats holding them back, whether there will always be a need for people doing shows to turn up and document the story for others, just like a TV show might, how much this stuff wil be saturated by TV programs doing this sort of thing in the future, stuff like that. And then there is the issues of how all the different, independent people making green shows, could be connected in some way, what benefits it would have, how strong the connection could be, whether anybody actually wants that, whether there will be more networks or other groups trying to do this than there are people making vids. Oh Im sounding too negative again, sorry. I want this stuff to explode and the more sites the better, I just not sure how best to do it. Cheers Steve Elbows My largely inactive except for one week, rather rushed and amateurish green related blog: carbondown.com --- In [email protected], "greentvgirl" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > My name is Lori Lake, I am the creator of Green TV and request the > help of this very creative group of minds. I am debt-free and located > on a small waterfront estate at the head of the Chesapeake Bay. I > created Green TV over years ago because people around me kept getting > sick and dying from pollution. I am not an activist or extremist, I am > a business woman and considered a green "expert" by many because I > (with my own hands and mind) designed, built and personally financed > my own green facility on a killer waterfront that includes two > furnished guest suites. > > I write to find how Green TV could make a great interactive site and > the reason is not my existing Green TV web site or content. Since > going live on the internet less than 1-year ago, I have had people > from all over the globe asking how they could contribute their green > photos and/or videos (ranging from amateurs to architects, local > politicians to government leaders, educators to media) > > After much thought, I decided to forgo my original Green TV platform > and move towards allowing others to create their own Green TV > "stations" like GreenTV.com/India, GreenTV.com NewYork and so on. > > The site I like for my Green TV stations to be modeled after is > http://cu.naturalhomemagazine.com/ yet it does not accept videos yet, > however, it would provide a basic idea of what people coming to Green > TV want to report on; Green building projects, green people in their > community, green business/government/educator leaders again, all on a > "local to them" basis. Imagine thousands worldwide contributing to a > better planet while riding on the coat tails of Al Gore's 5-year green > campaign! > > Thank you and I look forward to a mutual beneficial business > relationship with one or members of the incredibly helpful videoblogging. > > Lori Lake > > Direct contact: > Lori Lake http://www.greentv.com/contact.htm > > Web site: Green TV.com >
