YouTube as Video Recorder

This week I returned from a holiday with the family on an island with very little digital access. Among the things I had missed was the Champions League game between Chelsea and Barcelona (last year my colleagues in Barcelona got me tickets for the reverse fixture in the Nou Camp in Barcelona. . . a great night). I had heard that there had been a spectacular goal and wondered whether I would get to view it as TV tends to play to death a sporting event for 24 hours after it happens and then it’s gone forever. But now we have YouTube. This video of Didier Drogba’s goal (with apologies to my Barcelona colleagues) has, I think, a Dutch commentary and is one of many that have been uploaded. In fact, it would appear you can watch the whole game if you like. The quality is not great and I am sure there are copyright issues, but the fact is I will now be using YouTube as a quick and simple way of accessing particular pieces of sport or news footage I have missed. Unlike TV and pre-programmable recorders, online search functions are so quick and accurate and convenient that they become an irresistible way of catching up. And as the community that serves and uploads to YouTube and Revver (Edelman client) and other video sharing services gets bigger and bigger, the library of events and happenings will become wider more and more reliable (though as a Manchester City fan there have been precious few moments worth looking for from my own team this season). Convergence just got useful in my house.

Technorati Tags: YouTube, Revver