Videos by People: Ad hoc social channels for individuals

Hi! I've launched a new site called Videos by People - http://videosbypeople.org . It's motivated by a few ideas:

[ul]If you aren't very well connected, it's hard to get your story out on social media.
  • Sometimes you want to tell a story anonymously, or semi-anonymously.
  • You don't want it showing up next to your name in online searches forever, or maybe it just doesn't match the rest of the content on your YouTube channel.
  • Launching or participating in a social media site is like having a pet. It needs ongoing care and nurturing. Sometimes an ad-hoc social media site would be more efficient.
    • [/ul]
    Sites like YouTube are all but unavoidable in getting your word out these days, but their structures favor getting people to perpetuate social media, not letting individuals get a message out when they have something to say.

    Videos by People is a prototype for an alternative structure: The creation of ad-hoc channels to which individuals can post their stories on a given topic for a limited period of time. The theory is that by having multiple people posting to the same channel, the individuals could get some critical mass which would help them get their stories out in the "popularity contest" structured social media environment. It uses YouTube API to allow users to post to a communal YouTube channel, rather than to individual ones.

    Since I'm starting the channel and I'm not terribly well-connected, considering this an experiment in building critical mass is a dodgy proposition - there's an inherent bootstrapping problem. So I'm thinking of it more as a prototype - so we can see where the ideas behind the structure might lead. But if you like it, please do share, contribute, etc. (That's how that whole "critical mass" thing works! :-))

    Our first topic is Voting Stories. Please read/watch/post more about it, and Videos by People, at http://videosbypeople.org. And please feel free to get in touch via the feedback form on the site (That's the most reliable way to reach me.)

    Thanks,
    -Amy