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March 01, 2006
Scotsman videocast - why did they bother?
The Scotsman is claiming to be the first British newspaper to produce a video (pod)cast, or as they call it, ‘a vodcast’. (It’s a term unknown to me, I think they mean a ‘vlog’.)
They may well be right about being first. Unfortunately newspapers have a poor record when it comes to new media - publishing sterile, comment-less blogs, and barely-audible podcasts by journalists lacking speaking/interviewing skills. (Anyone who doubts the latter should listen to the dire Guardian efforts.) (Undoubted) excellence with the written word obviously doesn’t automatically translate into high standards elsewhere.
The Scotsman ‘vodcast’ is contrasty (half the picture is blacked out), shot with a cheap camera and accompanied by a bland clichéd commentary (“Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is popular with visitors and locals”) and some banal off-the-shelf muzac. It appears to be a bit of recycled tourism video, probably made by Visit Scotland.
Why did they bother? Have they seen Rocketboom? No? Rocketboom uses high definition video and the New Yorkers are kind enough to tell you exactly how it’s done. Someone at the Scotsman should check it out.
heritage.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=499&id=284112006
www.rocketboom.com/vlog/about.html
Posted by Simon Holledge at March 1, 2006 07:19 PM
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