2 A Commentary on Embedding media...

Disclaimer: As I soar higher into the blogosphere, my posts are taking on a how-to, blogging basics format mixed with my own preferences and reflections. In part, I am interested in blogging and how to do it effectively. In part, I believe that one learns best by teaching. Therefore this blog is turning into a teaching/learning platform for me. It is a way for me to explore how things work, synthesize information, and organize my thoughts.  If you are already a seasoned blogger, I welcome your input and tips!


It is SO COOL to embed photos:
It can be so much easier to embed media than to upload it onto your site or blog. You don't have to worry about optimizing media for the web; it's already done for you. You don't have to worry about bandwidth or storage; your media lives in a different place. Related to this last point, you don;t have to worry about slow page loads due to huge files.

Embedding is also handy if you are on a platform that does not allow uploading certain media, such as Yola, which relies exclusively on 3rd party platforms to deliver media.

Best of all, it puts your media in multiple places, increasing the chances that people will find you.

AudioBoo:
{disclaimer}While short and sweet, my Boo is not all that interesting or relevant to anything else. Sorry.

I am not sure what the best way to use AudioBoo is. I suppose you could do something akin to guerrilla podcasting. For example, a Sydney, Austrailia based food blogger, The Food Pornographer, has been using audio Boo to record her visits to restaurants and cafes. I suppose this lends authenticity and interest to her food blog. She also transcribes her Boo for those who are not interested in listening (and, I suspect, for the search engines.) Her post on Curry Tiger Pie  is also in Audio Boo. She is currently listed under "Popular Boos."




I HEART Prezi

Now Prezi is something I do know how to use. As a matter of fact, the embedding presentation is one I am working on for an upcoming workshop finding historic images for DigitalHeritage.org/ I can also imagine how bloggers can use Prezi to deliver how-to information. Or perhaps design bloggers can show off their inspiration using a Prezi. Companies could create an "about us" or "our mission" Prezi that wold be much more interesting than a block of text.

Prezi is a new way to make slideshow presentations. Part mind map and part presentation, Prezi allows you to brainstorm and create your presentation on one online platform. I do wish that Prezi allowed video and audio uploads as well as images, but perhaps that is in the works as I write...

Publishing on the DHP on Prezi

YouTube
I use both YouTube and Vimeo. I am not sure I have a favorite yet. Vimeo is a bit more structured and is for original videos. YouTube is a bit less structured. I like them both. I guess, in my mind, I am interested in uploading more polished videos, such as Digital Heritage videos and oral history clips to Vimeo where as I save how-to videos, montages, and miscellany for YouTube. But that's just me. I do not think there are any hard and fast rules.

I do know this. When I wanted to post my wedding video montage, YouTube would not except it because the song is copyrighted. ("Send Me On My Way," by Rusted Root) Vimeo did not seem to care, so the video not resides on Vimeo.

Below is a short how-to video about resizing images in Picasa.



Picasa
I feel the same way about Picasa and Flickr as I do about YouTube and Vimeo. Choosing a platform is somewhat arbitrary for straight photo sharing. If you do not already have photo editing software on your computer, or you don't like the photo editing software you have, Picasa has the added benefit of also being a straight-forward, easy to use photo editing application. I mostly use Flickr because it links with my iPhoto. However, if you use something like GIMP or Aviary's image editor, it does not matter if you choose Picasa or Flickr.

From Tourism

When Not to Embed
There may be some cases when you do not want to embed. Photography professionals come to mind (see previous post, "Love in a time of Copyright and Creative Commons"). Or if you want your controls to display a certain way. One scenario that comes to mind is when I want to image galleries or FlipBooks in my WordPress blog I will use a plugin and upload all of my media rather than embedding. Also, if you want to use images from someone else's site or blog you will need to download the image and re-upload it to your own site. As always, be sure to cite and link back to the original post, and if necessary, ask for permission to to the media, and whatever you do, don't hotlink!