As
discussed over the weekend, in less than two weeks the millions of videos uploaded to six-year-old erstwhile YouTube competitor Google Video will
no longer be viewable. Though a download button has been added to each video page for easy back-up,
that will only be available though May 13th, and the company will not be offering transfer service for users with YouTube accounts. The search giant has been slowly winding down the service over the years since their billion-dollar buyout of YouTube, controversially
revoking purchased content (with a refund) in 2007 and
disabling new uploads in 2009. The shutdown is a big blow to the web video ecosystem, as Google Video was one of the few major services to allow free hosting of long-form video, including the content for many popular MetaFilter posts. But all is not lost! Reddit users have organized
a virtual potluck to share the most interesting and unique videos not available anywhere else, and the
Archive Team, preserver of doomed web properties like Geocities (
previously), is partnering with Archive.org to
back up as much content as possible. In that spirit, click inside for a list of some of the most popular Google Video-centric content posted here over the years.
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Apr 18, 2011 -
54 comments
Two-
part video of interviews with residents of a home for elderly prostitutes in Mexico's senior-citizen sex-worker capital. (
via)
posted by prefpara
on Mar 22, 2010 -
4 comments
For the last year, the Vice TV program
Soft Focus has presented an assortment of
"discussions about art, culture, politics, personal history, personal feelings, fashion, and the like" with a series of noteworthy musicians. Host Ian Svenonius manages to wrangle dialogue with of some of the music world's most colorful and idiosyncratic characters: The Fall's
Mark E. Smith, My Bloody Valentine's
Kevin Shields, The Happy Mondays'
Shaun Ryder, Crass'
Penny Rimbaud, Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV's
Genesis P. Orridge, Cat Power's
Chan Marshall, Thee Headcoats'
Billy Childish, The Specials'
Terry Hall,
Andrew WK, Fugazi's
Ian Mackaye, and Palace/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's
Will Oldham.
[more inside]
posted by item
on Jan 27, 2008 -
21 comments
A Brief History of Errol Morris. His landmark televison interview/documentary series called "
First Person" (ex.
Rick Rosner : One in a Million Trillion [
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7], an interview with a man who went back to high school three times just to try to get it right;
Denny Fitch : Leaving the Earth [
2,
3,
4,
5,
6], where a pilot tells a harrowing tale of his passenger plane crash; and
Andrew Cappocia : Mr. Debt [
2 ,
3], an interview with a passionate man about credit card reform.) ... see also:
Fog of War [
excerpt], an award winning full-length feature about Robert McNamara, US Director of Defense during the Viet Nam War; as well as some very
compelling commercials [
2,
3,
4,
5] that you may remember, and
an interview with the man himself.
(Previously)
posted by Dave Faris
on Jul 2, 2007 -
30 comments
