Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 27 seconds
I do a lot of stuff with video, but I almost always do it reluctantly. For many reasons.
Disclaimer: I love meeting people face to face, and something like the virtual buddy thing I did with Rebecca Hogue was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.
But video drives me nuts.
From home, the internet connection is just good enough to do a Google Hangout on Air from my PC and record it live – but too slow for creating video live on YouTube or VoiceThread, and REALLY slow if I create a video on any of my devices and then upload it, onto YouTube or dropbox or whatever… it takes FOREVER.
From home, I have to dress up and check that my daughter isn’t making too much noise in the background and isn’t going to appear (though sometimes it’s ok if she makes an appearance, I guess and she likes it)
From home, I prefer to be on a mobile device (children run around, need to go potty, need to be fed, and can fall off of chairs – I need to be able to move around; even when she is asleep I am often home alone with her and would have to be able to go comfort her).
From work, I have to close my office door (I hate doing that) and find enough time to do it (not always possible because I have so much to be doing while I’m physically at work)
On the road, which is the MOST time I spend/dedicate to non-work online stuff, the connection won’t let me watch or record video, so that’s out.
Watching video exhausts me and also needs special circumstances of quiet and no one else at home needing the internet at the same time.
Yesterday on twitter, people like Sean Michael Morris and Mike Caulfield told me that possibly the exhaustion I feel after synchronous online interaction (video or twitter) might be similar to how introverts feel after they’ve had social interaction. That was a useful thing to learn about. I wonder if introverts feel that exhausted after online interactions, too, though? I think what happens with online interaction is that my body tenses up in an involuntary way that doesn’t happen f2f and possibly that’s what happens to introverts which exhausts them?
But the next time you ask me to do something on video… know this:
I love seeing your face, hearing your voice; and I love opportunities to show my own face and talk to you, but if you really don’t need me to do video for you… please… don’t ask me to 🙂 unless it’s a google hangout. I can usually manage one of those. Especially if you have high tolerance for a 3-yr-old kid showing her face occasionally 🙂 or for me turning off the video feed from my side most of the time 🙂
[this information does not apply to Rebecca Hogue haha]
I too do not like video – and yet I see the need for it to help with “presence” … but often I find that video is just a waste of time. Unless it is very well crafted, it takes too long to get to the point … the irony of they Buddy project isn’t lost on me, but that project is not so much about the video, but rather about the connection. I should have taken a screenshot of Dave with his fingers pointing to each other. The goal there is not broadcast video but rather two way video. It is about synchronous communication, rather than passively watching video. One of my colleagues did his masters on video in physician education. They found that video used to tell personal stories were valued, but video that talks about facts was not – learners felt that they could read about fact faster … the idea is that video was useful (not necessarily needed) to help with the humanizing aspect of the interaction, but wasn’t needed for the knowledge dump aspect …
I also think that part of what makes buddy work is understanding what video is worthwhile and what video is wasting time, but also, the fact that we are good at backchanneling in text. We developed our relationship solely using text based communication. We can have deep conversations with text … that is not a skill that everyone has. So for some, the video is an easier form of expression. But for me, to, it is exhausting but also largely impractical …
Yup. We have so much in common here. And what you said makes total sense. It also helps me articulate why i can’t stand xMOOC videos or those for flipping. I cab flipping read it i don’t need to be told! Tho i do like audio so that is weird coz it has the linearity of video and partly needs some bandwidth (but downloads easier). Need to think about that