More on finding the good stuff

Following on from my previous post about the power of the social web being partly the collective process of finding and pointing to good stuff David Smith has linked to this wonderful collection from The Observer of The 50 greatest arts videos on YouTube pulled together by Ajesh Patalay.

YouTube is best known for its offbeat videos that become viral sensations. But among its millions of clips is a treasure trove of rare and fascinating arts footage, lovingly posted by fans. Ajesh Patalay selects 50 of the best - Joy Division's TV debut, readings by Jack Kerouac, a Marlene Dietrich screen test, Madonna's first performance... and much more

There is a huge potential for individual curatorship like this where people earn reputations for being able to find and pull together quality content. One of my favourite blogs from way back is Mark Wood's Wood S Lot which has very little original content but is a wonderful collage of material from all sorts of sources assembled skillfully in interesting and often powerful combinations.

Comments

[Dan Thornton]

I'm actually spending more and more time watching quality (in my perception) content on Youtube, whether it's Michael Wesch's work, Randy Pausch's last lecture, TED talks etc.

It seems to be maturing - in that more mature users are finding it useful and are utilising it!

[Chris Corrigan]

Oh yeah...you mean we actually might be weblogging again?

Mark rocks it old school. He has never wavered from his mission to bring great art, philosophy and poetry to the surface, with no original content at all. And yet his selections say volumes about who he is, what he thinks of the world and what would be useful to understand. He is a rare creature to be able to that and his blog is a treasure.

And other old schoolers will remember that you were a critical investor in his work too. Props to you for seeing what he was doing early on.

[Euan Semple]

Goodness I haven't told that story for a long time. Thanks for remembering Chris.