Enormous opportunities in social media for student organizations
by Andy DeSoto on December 15, 2008
If you follow me on Twitter or know a little more about my academic or social life, you’ll know I do a lot of work with and for the William & Mary Wind Symphony, W&M‘s premier wind band and one of my favorite extracurricular activities on campus. Oftentimes, I find a way or two to wiggle my social media know-how into the organization’s everyday proceedings, but the release of HD quality video on YouTube and Facebook has sent my work straight into high gear.
Why? As I upload beautiful concert footage in 720p, a format heretofore rarely utilized in wide distribution, it’s occurring to me that I am uploading the only high definition video footage of wind bands on either YouTube or Facebook.
Why is this important?
I upload concert videos to social media sites for two main reasons: (1) so that current members of the ensemble can enjoy archival copies of their performance and refer back to them for academic use or personal enjoyment, and (2) so that the community outside William & Mary can see a little bit about what the Wind Symphony performs on a regular basis. The fact that I have the only HD concert footage online benefits both my purposes.
First, the resolution is such that individual players can actually see themselves perform– lower quality video distorts both video and audio alike. Additionally, the high resolution is just as appropriate for playing back on a computer, television screen, or portable device– regardless of where a video is being played back, quality is maximal.
Secondly, individuals that are interested in joining the Wind Symphony, community members considering coming to one of our concerts, or fellow musicians looking for alternative interpretations of band repertoire can all benefit from viewing our performances. We’re no Berlin Philharmoniker, but a student might watch one of our videos over the work of a top-notch professional group because he or she can see and hear much more clearly.
Staying on the cutting edge
In the world of social media, it’s often the case that the first person to an idea wins. I’m sure more than one individual considered taking a photo of a cat with a cheeseburger, for instance, but the first one to turn that idea into a reality won instant stardom. In a similar way, it pays to have members of your student organizations, etc. to keep an eye on evolving technologies, because you never know when being on the cutting edge may pay off. Will HD videos on YouTube and Facebook attract more members to the Wind Symphony or net us a larger audience? It’s hard to say, but I prefer to find out myself, rather than read about someone finding success in the news a few weeks later.
Here’s a video, in case you’re curious; make sure to visit YouTube directly to enjoy full quality.
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Enormous opportunities in social media for student organizations
by Andy DeSoto on December 15, 2008
Why? As I upload beautiful concert footage in 720p, a format heretofore rarely utilized in wide distribution, it’s occurring to me that I am uploading the only high definition video footage of wind bands on either YouTube or Facebook.
Why is this important?
I upload concert videos to social media sites for two main reasons: (1) so that current members of the ensemble can enjoy archival copies of their performance and refer back to them for academic use or personal enjoyment, and (2) so that the community outside William & Mary can see a little bit about what the Wind Symphony performs on a regular basis. The fact that I have the only HD concert footage online benefits both my purposes.
First, the resolution is such that individual players can actually see themselves perform– lower quality video distorts both video and audio alike. Additionally, the high resolution is just as appropriate for playing back on a computer, television screen, or portable device– regardless of where a video is being played back, quality is maximal.
Secondly, individuals that are interested in joining the Wind Symphony, community members considering coming to one of our concerts, or fellow musicians looking for alternative interpretations of band repertoire can all benefit from viewing our performances. We’re no Berlin Philharmoniker, but a student might watch one of our videos over the work of a top-notch professional group because he or she can see and hear much more clearly.
Staying on the cutting edge
In the world of social media, it’s often the case that the first person to an idea wins. I’m sure more than one individual considered taking a photo of a cat with a cheeseburger, for instance, but the first one to turn that idea into a reality won instant stardom. In a similar way, it pays to have members of your student organizations, etc. to keep an eye on evolving technologies, because you never know when being on the cutting edge may pay off. Will HD videos on YouTube and Facebook attract more members to the Wind Symphony or net us a larger audience? It’s hard to say, but I prefer to find out myself, rather than read about someone finding success in the news a few weeks later.
Here’s a video, in case you’re curious; make sure to visit YouTube directly to enjoy full quality.