ProPublica: How China Spreads Its Propaganda Version of Life for Uyghurs. “Thousands of videos of Uyghurs denying abuses against their community are showing up on Twitter and YouTube. They’re part of an elaborate influence campaign by Chinese officials to counter reports of human rights violations in Xinjiang.”
Bloomberg Quint: YouTube Shorts Is Taking on TikTok and Minting a New Constellation of Concise Video Stars. “Shorts is YouTube’s answer to ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok. That service has been wooing YouTube’s young audience, challenging its role as the primary platform for aspiring amateurs and inspiring copycat features from major social media networks, including Snapchat and Facebook’s Instagram. While YouTube is still the king of web video, its gargantuan size can be intimidating to newbies, many of whom see TikTok as a faster path to fame.”
CNET: FaceTime is getting a bunch of upgrades, and I can’t wait to try them with my friends. “Not wanting Zoom to take all the success, Apple announced some key updates to FaceTime during its WWDC event. Some of the features do indeed go some way to make FaceTime more like Zoom, while other features — like SharePlay — are all new and could offer great new ways of virtually hanging out with friends.”
Getty: 24-Hour Performance T.V. to See the Sky, Inspired by Yoko Ono’s Sky T.V.. “In collaboration with Yoko Ono, the Getty Research Institute and the Feminist Center for Creative Work will join more than 50 arts institutions around the world to present a live 24-hour video streaming of the sky via Zoom to audiences at home in celebration of the Solstice and Strawberry Moon Eclipse.” The livestream will be available free on YouTube and starts early June 21.
MakeUseOf: How to Maximize Your Views on Instagram Reels. “If you’d like to grow your Instagram account, creating and sharing Reels is a great way to connect with your audience. This feature offers short, digestible content that could build reach on the Explore page. Here are eight tips that you can use to improve the reach and performance of your Instagram Reels.”
Limping Chicken: Deaf News: Deaf instructor releases accessible workouts with ‘Body Coach’ Joe Wicks . “Deaf online fitness instructor India Morse, who runs the business ‘You Lean Me Up’, has produced new accessible sessions with celebrity coach Joe Wicks, which have launched on The Body Coach’s official YouTube channel today.”
Creative Bloq: How to use green screen on TikTok. “Want to know how to use green screen on TikTok? We’ve got it covered. Virtual backgrounds have become popular across social media and the micro-video platform TikTok is no exception. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to add a virtual background to your micro-videos for all kinds of creative uses on the popular social media platform.”
California State University Northridge: CSUN Prof Weighs the Power of Social Media to Empower Communities of Color. “Video of the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, taken by witnesses, sparked outrage on social media, fueled by the fact that this was not the only online video of an officer taking the life of a Black American. According to California State University, Northridge criminology and justice studies professor Brianne Posey, young activists using video of encounters between police officers and civilians of color are both helping and not helping shift the power dynamic between the two groups.”
Boing Boing: The Met just posted Hilary Harris’s Organism (1975) to YouTube. “It took documentary filmmaker Hilary Harris (1929 – 1999) 15 years to make his short time-lapse film depicting Manhattan as a living creature. Called Organism, it was completed in 1975 and is considered to be a forerunner to Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi (1982). It’s also fun to see New York in its grimy heyday.”
Film New Europe: Almost 3000 Titles Digitally Restored by Polish TVP. “The Polish public broadcaster TVP has digitally restored almost 3,000 film and television productions. In addition, the company has digitalised as much as 1,000 km of film. The reconstructed productions include popular series, feature and documentary films, TV theatre performances and programmes for children. The budget of the project was over 17.9 m EUR / 80 m PLN.” That’s a little over 21.8 million USD.
From April but too cool to leave out. National Shell Museum: OctoCam Goes Live!. “Our OctoCam livestream enables you to view our Giant Pacific Octopus swimming, eating, and playing in its aquarium in real-time.”
University of Arkansas: U of A Launches New Razorback Band Digital Archive. “The U of A recently launched its new Razorback Band Digital Archive, which is a collection of almost 500 video files consisting of over 700 performances since 1963, catalogued in chronological order.”
Europeana Pro: Europeana XX: Subtitle-a-thon Challenge Warsaw. “The National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute (FINA) and The European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) Cluster Warsaw invite you to the first of four subtitle-a-thons focused on audiovisual heritage. The kick-off of the subtitle-a-thon takes place on Saturday, June 12th at 11.00 CET with a two hour introductory session, and will run online for seven days with a closing session on Friday, June 18th at 17.00 CET.”
Screen Rant: How To Schedule & Register For TikTok Live Events. “TikTok Live allows users to broadcast to their followers in real-time, much like the similar functionality in platforms like Instagram. Not everyone can go live on TikTok — users must be 16 years or older to do so and have at least 1,000 followers. This helps to ensure there will be at least some interest in broadcasts. Of course, when users go live with no warning then only their followers on the app at the time or available to watch when they receive a notification will be able to view the broadcast. That’s what Live Events are aimed at tackling.”
Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation: IPLC Launches the Video Appeals to the President of Russia Web Archive. “The Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation is pleased to announce the launch of the Video Appeals to the President of Russia web archive, preserving online videos created as direct appeals to Vladimir Putin by various groups and individuals in the Russian Federation and a number of other countries. The videos contain requests for the president’s direct involvement in resolving local and national social, economic, legal and environmental problems, assessment of Putin’s leadership, advice to him, and birthday wishes.”
