Video Overload
As someone with a front row seat to all of the independent media creation going on right now, I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed by all of the new audio and video appearing online. It's not that I want to watch or listen to everything. I want a filter so I don't miss any of the really good stuff. What I define as really good stuff isn't what you define as really good stuff and the guy across the street thinks we both have poor taste.
I make a point of sampling a little of everything because I enjoy seeking out new and different form of entertainment and information. Even I have my limits. I hit a point where I need to pull back and spend more time creating than I spend consuming. I don't think I'm unique in that respect. There comes a point where I find myself needing to respond to everything I'm taking in.
At what point do we hit a threshold where everyone is so completely overwhelmed with audio and video we start to tune out? Aside from editing audio files related directly to The Chris Pirillo Show, I haven't listened to a single podcast in almost two weeks. There's only so much talking I can handle. I'm more interested in music for the time being. I'm even tuning out from the reliable sources I know find great music because I found some great music in the strangest of all places; a record store in the physical world. Of course, that leads back to seeking out more music by the same artists online, followed by seeking out music by other bands with overlapping members.
Television stations like KRON in San Francisco are empowering a small group of people from their viewing audience to capture more of the community news on video. This might be a good thing if publishing to the Web results in more human interest stories and community events being archived in favor of the ever popular violent crimes, accidents and natural disasters we see on traditional television news broadcasts. It could also backfire, reinforcing a picture of further criminal activity and accident coverage because that's where the excitement is and that's what will draw in Web viewers the same way it draws in eyeballs for television programming. How much can we watch or listen to before we simply implode?