Comments on: The reports of the death of text are greatly exaggerated http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=1372 On technology and beyond! Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:05:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Gene Golovchinsky http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=1372&cpage=1#comment-6846 Gene Golovchinsky Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:09:47 +0000 http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=1372#comment-6846 Marti, I wonder how much education will affect people's willingness to use video editing tools. Right now we teach kids creative writing as a standard part of the high school curriculum. If creative videography was also a required subject, would that increase the demand for simple video creation tools, or would it raise the bar in terms of people's expectations about what video editing/production tools should be like to tell a good story? Marti, I wonder how much education will affect people’s willingness to use video editing tools. Right now we teach kids creative writing as a standard part of the high school curriculum. If creative videography was also a required subject, would that increase the demand for simple video creation tools, or would it raise the bar in terms of people’s expectations about what video editing/production tools should be like to tell a good story?

]]> By: Marti http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=1372&cpage=1#comment-6843 Marti Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:32:48 +0000 http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=1372#comment-6843 Gene, thank you for the thoughtful commentary on this essay. I do want to point out that in the essay I said that the main thing holding back this decline is the need for technology for better search, as well as better editing tools. I agree that probably interesting text/audio/video hybrids will arise. Gene, thank you for the thoughtful commentary on this essay. I do want to point out that in the essay I said that the main thing holding back this decline is the need for technology for better search, as well as better editing tools. I agree that probably interesting text/audio/video hybrids will arise.

]]> By: jeremy http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=1372&cpage=1#comment-6531 jeremy Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:38:49 +0000 http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=1372#comment-6531 My point wasn't that video was useless, either. It was to say that, just like computers have difficulty processing video, so do humans. It takes a long time for a human to extract the same amount of information from video, as they can get from a couple of paragraphs of text. My point wasn’t that video was useless, either. It was to say that, just like computers have difficulty processing video, so do humans. It takes a long time for a human to extract the same amount of information from video, as they can get from a couple of paragraphs of text.

]]> By: Gene Golovchinsky http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=1372&cpage=1#comment-6529 Gene Golovchinsky Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:22:35 +0000 http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=1372#comment-6529 Point wasn't that video is useless; far from it. Rather, what makes text special is our ability to process it with computers while staying "close" to its meaning. We are nowhere near doing that with video. Point wasn’t that video is useless; far from it. Rather, what makes text special is our ability to process it with computers while staying “close” to its meaning. We are nowhere near doing that with video.

]]> By: jeremy http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=1372&cpage=1#comment-6528 jeremy Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:03:42 +0000 http://palblog.fxpal.com/?p=1372#comment-6528 I find video to be in..cred..i..bly..slow, in terms of the rate at which it communicates certain forms of information. As a result, I'll often not watch the video at all, even when it's only a click away. It takes me 30 seconds to read two paragraphs of text. That's quick. It takes me 4-5 minutes to get the same amount of information from lots of videos. Especially if it's a video of someone giving a talk. Not so quick. Video does have the power to communicate information faster than text. I think the upper bound on the conversion rate is 1 picture = 1000 words. But it has to be really well done video. And that takes time and effort and careful crafting to create. It takes a real visual storyteller. Most video, especially web video, is not up to this standard. I therefore find much of it highly unwatchable, not because of lack of (visual) production quality, but for the lack of concise storytelling, the sheer slowness at which I receive information. I do, however, love to listen to podcasts in the car. The slower pace of the information is a fair trade-off with the fact that I really don't want to be reading text while I am driving. I find video to be in..cred..i..bly..slow, in terms of the rate at which it communicates certain forms of information. As a result, I’ll often not watch the video at all, even when it’s only a click away.

It takes me 30 seconds to read two paragraphs of text. That’s quick. It takes me 4-5 minutes to get the same amount of information from lots of videos. Especially if it’s a video of someone giving a talk. Not so quick.

Video does have the power to communicate information faster than text. I think the upper bound on the conversion rate is 1 picture = 1000 words. But it has to be really well done video. And that takes time and effort and careful crafting to create. It takes a real visual storyteller. Most video, especially web video, is not up to this standard. I therefore find much of it highly unwatchable, not because of lack of (visual) production quality, but for the lack of concise storytelling, the sheer slowness at which I receive information.

I do, however, love to listen to podcasts in the car. The slower pace of the information is a fair trade-off with the fact that I really don’t want to be reading text while I am driving.

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