Text or Video — no it should be Text And Video

I always believed that visual means will dominate Web not in too distant a future. This article in NYT heralds this trend very nicely:

Tyler’s way of experiencing the Web — primarily through video — may not be mainstream, at least not yet. But his use of YouTube as his favorite search engine underscores a shift that is much broader than the quirky habits of children.

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With inexpensive cameras flooding the market and a proliferation of Web sites hosting seemingly unlimited numbers of clips, it’s never been easier to create and upload video. You can now find an online video on virtually any topic. Web videos teach how to grout a tub, offer reviews of the latest touch-screen phones and give you a feel for walking across the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy.

There is a question in this piece:

As more video is added to the Web, the proportion of video searches that deliver satisfactory answers will grow, too. The question is, how far will video go as an alternative to text?

This is a ‘wrong’ question. Video should not be viewed as an alternative. Video and text are complementary — they help each other. As our five senses work together — they are not suppose to be alternative to any other sense, and to our brain, video and text should not be treated as alternatives. The right question is how will they enhance our experience when both of them can be used equally easily. At one time text dominated because of the technolgy limitations. As technology makes it easier to use video, they will be used creatively to enhance our overall experience.

3 thoughts on “Text or Video — no it should be Text And Video

  1. Tobey Crockett

    I couldn’t agree with you more here about the concurrence of text & video as equally useful info streams which will become more & more useful with increased user friendliness.

    I just had a friend discover her editing program on her Mac which she then used to edit her grown son’s videos of eagles feeding in Alaska, plus assorted other wildlife. Unfortunately, youTube has a ten minute limit and hers was longer than that so she won’t be posting any time soon…. and she is quite the creative user so certainly there will be a longer curve before we see what ppl can really do once they let it rip! LOL.

    For your own interest, her website is http://www.peacemandala.com – she has several sites but this one might appeal – more on a hunch than anything else. happy new year and new president!

  2. Ramesh Post author

    Looks like a very interesting project, Toby.

    And about videos, I think popularity of video will result in better understanding among people and hence more peace.

    Cheers,

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