9/28/09

Will's Texana Youtube Channel

 
I've developed a Youtube channel, Will's Texana Youtube Channel.  It's free, It's easy.  An account is called a channel.
Yes, I know and groan about the junk and ephemera that's there, but this last summer I wondered, just what IS there?  So I looked.  It took a while to get the hang of it all, but using a very undisciplined method which was also very unconsistent, I cobbled together 1,000 videos from other folks' channels and centralized them into 100 topical playlists
 
There are some drawbacks (e.g., Youtube doesn't allow for alphabetizing the 100 playlists, so you'll find them in a jumble of 100.)  I working on a means where by they can be alphabetizing on somebody's separate page, and this alternative would also enable the addition of other folks' playlists on other channels.
I'm issuing a report on Will's Texana Youtube Channel as a special issue of my Will's Texana Monthly.  If you'd like a free copy just let me know.  That report also includes a list of the 50 or so Youtube channels to which I subscribe, some rather professionally done - historical, contemporary, nature, gardening, media, etc - and some casually produced by individuals but worthy of notice and maybe your own subscription.
 
The WT Channel was first intended just as a device to record what I found.  Now it serves as a repository (if temporary) to nudge librarians, archivists, historians, teachers, and other interested folks to further explore Youtube and other video repositories for their long-term value.  Already one WT channel viewer, Joan Hood, has since begun her own channel, Joan's Texas Women Channel, to collect videos exclusively on that topic which I wouldn't be able to do as well at http://www.youtube.com/user/JoanHood1 .
 
Actually, I encourage you to start your own channel, if not so much to produce your own videos, but to collect along special lines.
 
And tell me where to go and what to do when I get there!  It's a broad prairie with only slow rolling hills.  I could use some talk and thought.
 
See the whole shebang at http://www.youtube.com/willstexana

9/1/09

State Historian of Texas Blog

Light Cummings,
The State Historian of Texas , develops his own blog to chronicle his travels and activities during his two year term which recent began.

He self-describes the blog as:

"Light T. Cummins, Bryan Professor of History at Austin College, blogs about things related to Texas History. In May, 2009, the Governor of Texas appointed him to serve as the Texas State Historian. This blog contains postings about his activities as he seeks to advance the cause of history and historical understanding across the state."

Cummings is a widely respected historian with awards, volumes, articles, and students passing under his tutelage.

He's been blogging since January.  Some recent August postings include

  • Finding the Site of Bernardo and Pleasant Hill Pla...
  • Allie Tennant and the James Butler Bonham Statue
  • A Visit to the Houston Metropolitan Research Cente...
  • "Every Texan an Historian" Neilson Rogers of Sherm...
  • The A. C. McMillan African American Museum, Emory,...
  • Canary Islanders and the 278 Anniversary of Munici...
  • "The Source for All Things Texas:" The Enduring Te...
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    Marking as a Favorite or subscribing at http://historianoftexas.blogspot.com/ would provide readers with an interesting tour of Texas.