I've been getting a lot more into watching vintage swing dance clips lately, and I was thinking how useful it would be if we had a nice wiki where people could post information about the dancers in the video, what the clip is from, the year, cool anecdotes, things like that.
My questions:
Does this already exist? I'll go ahead and throw Mediawiki up on a server if not, but I don't want to be duplicating effort if someone has done this already.
Is there interest in this? I know I'd love something like this, but there may be arguments against it, or just general apathy that I haven't considered yet.
Originally posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012 (9 months ago)
Could be good if it is done right. The problem I have with the majority of wikis is they are usually hard to navigate, ugly formats, and ads everywhere.
Originally posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012 (9 months ago)
My current plan would be to use Mediawiki (which is the same software powering wikipedia), so it would look like wikipedia looks.
Currently, I don't plan to put an ad anywhere on the site. If I ever put an ad on there it would simply be to go back into paying for the server, and they wouldn't be intrusive.
Navigation is always an issue no matter what site you use. One thing that I was thinking we could do is tag videos with categories such as "videos from the 30s", "Videos featuring Frankie Manning", etc, but it's a wiki, so if anyone has a good idea they can go ahead and implement it.
Originally posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012 (9 months ago)
What do you guys think?
Following the 80/20 rule, I'd just collect the videos in a Youtube playlist (or playlists) and add it to your signature line on Yehoodi. The MediaWiki stuff (the "20" part) isn't going to add that much more, and what little more it adds, will cost you significantly more time to accomplish it.
Originally posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012 (9 months ago)
I vaguely recall a similar attempt in the pre-wiki days when natch.net was around with film clips but I don't recall who/where that was and don't know if it still lives in any form.
I concur with Glen. I'm sure many of us such a resource valuable but I'm not sure how much help you might have compiling the information. The success rate of community contributed content (wikis, event calendars, etc.) is not very high in our community.
Originally posted Thursday, August 9, 2012 (8 months ago)
Edited on Thursday, August 9, 2012 9:56 am (8 months ago)
I'm not quite sure if a simple youtube playlist would accomplish what I would like to accomplish, since really what I'm interested in is recording meta-information about videos. I just keep seeing presentations by members of the community who are knowledgeable in these topic where they show film clips and talk about who is in them, the history of the clips, etc, and I keep thinking it is sad that this information doesn't seem to be compiled in any singular source that can last forever on the internet.
That said, you're right, people are busy and folks don't always have time for a library project such as this. I'm still leaning to giving it a shot, even if I'm just using it as a resource for myself, and it doesn't turn into the most epic library collection of everything ever. But you guys raise good points.
Glen, I'm not familiar with the 80/20 rule, and I'm having trouble figuring out how it applies from the wikipedia page. Can you elaborate?
Edit: I can't find the aforementioned videos on Natch's website...I see him on turntable sometimes though, so if I run into him I'll ask him about that. Also, in case I don't end up making this thing, I just wanted to point out to future internet travelers the ridiculous amount of information at Bobby White's Blog: http://swungover.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/an-index-of-basic-classic-clips/ . Holy Cow!
I just keep seeing presentations by members of the community who are knowledgeable in these topic where they show film clips and talk about who is in them, the history of the clips, etc, and I keep thinking it is sad that this information doesn't seem to be compiled in any singular source that can last forever on the internet.
Whew! Good thing I'm not worried about that, I shudder over the amount of time it would cost me to create that. That said, I'm not sure what information (of any topic) is "compiled in any singular source that can last forever on the internet". A google of Baltimore Orioles, for example, will probably bring up a dozen or more websites with historical information about the team on all of them, with few people concerned about combining it all on to one webpage.
I'm not quite sure if a simple youtube playlist would accomplish what I would like to accomplish, since really what I'm interested in is recording meta-information about videos.
Youtube allows you to add annotations to videos that you attach to your playlists. It may not be as perfect-looking as a Wiki might be, but, like I said 80/20...
Another option is to start simple with YouTube, and if you find yourself continuing on after several weeks, then graduate to a separate website. Have you ever seen people finally decide to start exercising, and they buy an expensive treadmill or elliptical machine or whatever in their home, and three weeks later they're not using it all and become disgusted with themselves every time they look at that unused machine? It's important not to harm yourself similarly with things that you aren't sure you'll have the time to follow through with.
Also, I googled you, apparently you're a recently minted Computer Science major. Before trying to create such a site on Swing you might first wish to rule out investing the time in volunteer Apache Software Foundation projects to become better known and sharpen whatever skills you need. Blogging occasionally on swing is an excellent topic to spice up an otherwise dry technology blog if you want to start blogging your field as well. (Then again, if you want to create a kick-ass gorgeous MediaWiki site on Swing that you can show off to future tech companies, that's also a great idea--just make sure it's sufficiently technical enough and that you're enough of a website artist.)
Glen, I'm not familiar with the 80/20 rule, and I'm having trouble figuring out how it applies from the wikipedia page. Can you elaborate?
Figuratively (the actual percentages might vary depending on the task), 80% of the benefits frequently come from just 20% of the effort, and it takes 80% of the effort to get the last 20%, so sometimes it's much more efficient to skip the last 80% of the effort and just be happy with 80% of the results that come from doing just 20% of the work. I felt YouTube playlists fits 80/20 compared to using a Wiki--it will be 80% as good as a Wiki and take you only 20% as much time.
Originally posted Friday, August 10, 2012 (8 months ago)
Ah, new grad. I'm glad the focus is on developing content and not developing a tool.
To rephrase what Glen is saying, notes associated with a video on a youtube playlist might be good enough start. If you find you're willing to keep with it after a time and/or you find some experts willing to contribute their knowledge then consider graduating to something fancier like a wiki or even a custom tool. Consider it a "proof of concept" or "pilot project" or "feasibility study" where you only invest a little effort to definitively answer your original question. If it's successful then invest the greater time to do it better.
80/20 rule or the similar 90/10 rule is a rule of thumb. Usually means you can complete 80% of the work/result in 20% of the time while the other 20% of the work will take the remaining 80% of the time. Or the way one of my profs pessimistically put it, do the first 90% of the work in 90% of the time and then do the other 10% of the work in the other 90% of the time.
Originally posted Friday, August 10, 2012 (8 months ago)
Edited on Friday, August 10, 2012 8:58 am (8 months ago)
Ah that was a much better explanation of that rule (than wikipedia could give).
recent I guess is a subjective term...I wouldn't say I'm a recent graduate, although someone that is much older than I am might. Either way, my interest here wasn't in trying to resume-build--Building a webpage wouldn't really help me, since web development isn't really a career path that I'd like to follow right now, and I already have a kick-butt job. If I was looking to resume-build, there's a bajillion open source project that I can contribute to (and I occasionally have). I assure you, my intentions were pure. :D
Anyway, this is exactly the type of feedback I was looking to get from this post, so thanks, guys!
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Swing Dance Video Wiki?
Hey Yehoodites:
I've been getting a lot more into watching vintage swing dance clips lately, and I was thinking how useful it would be if we had a nice wiki where people could post information about the dancers in the video, what the clip is from, the year, cool anecdotes, things like that.
My questions:
What do you guys think?
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Could be good if it is done right. The problem I have with the majority of wikis is they are usually hard to navigate, ugly formats, and ads everywhere.
(Username is pronounced “ah – PAHASH”) & If you are bored check out my blog... http://taintwhatyoudo.wordpress.com/
My current plan would be to use Mediawiki (which is the same software powering wikipedia), so it would look like wikipedia looks.
Currently, I don't plan to put an ad anywhere on the site. If I ever put an ad on there it would simply be to go back into paying for the server, and they wouldn't be intrusive.
Navigation is always an issue no matter what site you use. One thing that I was thinking we could do is tag videos with categories such as "videos from the 30s", "Videos featuring Frankie Manning", etc, but it's a wiki, so if anyone has a good idea they can go ahead and implement it.
Following the 80/20 rule, I'd just collect the videos in a Youtube playlist (or playlists) and add it to your signature line on Yehoodi. The MediaWiki stuff (the "20" part) isn't going to add that much more, and what little more it adds, will cost you significantly more time to accomplish it.
I vaguely recall a similar attempt in the pre-wiki days when natch.net was around with film clips but I don't recall who/where that was and don't know if it still lives in any form.
I concur with Glen. I'm sure many of us such a resource valuable but I'm not sure how much help you might have compiling the information. The success rate of community contributed content (wikis, event calendars, etc.) is not very high in our community.
I'm not quite sure if a simple youtube playlist would accomplish what I would like to accomplish, since really what I'm interested in is recording meta-information about videos. I just keep seeing presentations by members of the community who are knowledgeable in these topic where they show film clips and talk about who is in them, the history of the clips, etc, and I keep thinking it is sad that this information doesn't seem to be compiled in any singular source that can last forever on the internet.
That said, you're right, people are busy and folks don't always have time for a library project such as this. I'm still leaning to giving it a shot, even if I'm just using it as a resource for myself, and it doesn't turn into the most epic library collection of everything ever. But you guys raise good points.
Glen, I'm not familiar with the 80/20 rule, and I'm having trouble figuring out how it applies from the wikipedia page. Can you elaborate?
Edit: I can't find the aforementioned videos on Natch's website...I see him on turntable sometimes though, so if I run into him I'll ask him about that. Also, in case I don't end up making this thing, I just wanted to point out to future internet travelers the ridiculous amount of information at Bobby White's Blog: http://swungover.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/an-index-of-basic-classic-clips/ . Holy Cow!
Whew! Good thing I'm not worried about that, I shudder over the amount of time it would cost me to create that. That said, I'm not sure what information (of any topic) is "compiled in any singular source that can last forever on the internet". A google of Baltimore Orioles, for example, will probably bring up a dozen or more websites with historical information about the team on all of them, with few people concerned about combining it all on to one webpage.
Youtube allows you to add annotations to videos that you attach to your playlists. It may not be as perfect-looking as a Wiki might be, but, like I said 80/20...
Another option is to start simple with YouTube, and if you find yourself continuing on after several weeks, then graduate to a separate website. Have you ever seen people finally decide to start exercising, and they buy an expensive treadmill or elliptical machine or whatever in their home, and three weeks later they're not using it all and become disgusted with themselves every time they look at that unused machine? It's important not to harm yourself similarly with things that you aren't sure you'll have the time to follow through with.
Also, I googled you, apparently you're a recently minted Computer Science major. Before trying to create such a site on Swing you might first wish to rule out investing the time in volunteer Apache Software Foundation projects to become better known and sharpen whatever skills you need. Blogging occasionally on swing is an excellent topic to spice up an otherwise dry technology blog if you want to start blogging your field as well. (Then again, if you want to create a kick-ass gorgeous MediaWiki site on Swing that you can show off to future tech companies, that's also a great idea--just make sure it's sufficiently technical enough and that you're enough of a website artist.)
Figuratively (the actual percentages might vary depending on the task), 80% of the benefits frequently come from just 20% of the effort, and it takes 80% of the effort to get the last 20%, so sometimes it's much more efficient to skip the last 80% of the effort and just be happy with 80% of the results that come from doing just 20% of the work. I felt YouTube playlists fits 80/20 compared to using a Wiki--it will be 80% as good as a Wiki and take you only 20% as much time.
Ah, new grad. I'm glad the focus is on developing content and not developing a tool.
To rephrase what Glen is saying, notes associated with a video on a youtube playlist might be good enough start. If you find you're willing to keep with it after a time and/or you find some experts willing to contribute their knowledge then consider graduating to something fancier like a wiki or even a custom tool. Consider it a "proof of concept" or "pilot project" or "feasibility study" where you only invest a little effort to definitively answer your original question. If it's successful then invest the greater time to do it better.
80/20 rule or the similar 90/10 rule is a rule of thumb. Usually means you can complete 80% of the work/result in 20% of the time while the other 20% of the work will take the remaining 80% of the time. Or the way one of my profs pessimistically put it, do the first 90% of the work in 90% of the time and then do the other 10% of the work in the other 90% of the time.
Ah that was a much better explanation of that rule (than wikipedia could give).
recent I guess is a subjective term...I wouldn't say I'm a recent graduate, although someone that is much older than I am might. Either way, my interest here wasn't in trying to resume-build--Building a webpage wouldn't really help me, since web development isn't really a career path that I'd like to follow right now, and I already have a kick-butt job. If I was looking to resume-build, there's a bajillion open source project that I can contribute to (and I occasionally have). I assure you, my intentions were pure. :D
Anyway, this is exactly the type of feedback I was looking to get from this post, so thanks, guys!
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