Social Media Roundup

PBS now has over 1,100 videos on YouTube, many with tens of thousands of views. In fact, this week PBS was the #55 Most Viewed Director and Partner (PBS has an upgraded account that lets us post videos that are longer than the normal 10 minute limit) on the popular video sharing site.

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Last Friday in the roundup we looked at some of the feedback and conversations happening on Twitter during the Democratic National Convention. This week people were just as vocal, and maybe even a little more critical of PBS coverage of the RNC.more

Ok, it's the end of the week. Have you had enough of the Democratic National Convention yet?
Thanks to some new technologies, you were able to find out plenty about PBS's gavel-to-gavel coverage without turning on your TV.
Twitter, that crazy Web site that is always asking "What are you doing?" was ablaze with people talking about the convention. In fact, I hardly turned on the TV, because I had more than enough information coming straight at me on my cell phone and computer screen.  more

Does Nancy Pelosi know who's running Russia?

That was one of the debates that erupted in PBS's corner of cyberspace this week.

During an Aug. 11 appearance on "Tavis Smiley," the House speaker said she was disturbed by the timing of Russia's invasion of Georgia, which occurred at roughly the same time the Olympics opened in Beijing.

"It was interesting to me to see the news talk about the invasion of Georgia while Putin was just sitting there at the Olympics. There was something wrong with that picture," Pelosi told Tavis. "People were being killed, and Putin is sitting in the stands at the Olympics as if nothing is going on."

"Foul!," cried visitors to YouTube's PBS Channel, where the clip was posted.more

That chatter you hear is the sound of folks in PBS's corner of cyberspace sounding off about the presidential campaign.

But unlike the rest of the electorate, it seems as if users at Vote 2008 and other PBS sites are focused on the issues.

Pretty novel concept, huh?more

It seems a lot of folks in PBS's corner of cyberspace are fired up this week about . . .a piece of legislation. More specifically the new housing bill, which provides support for congressionally chartered corporations Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and at least some of the homeowners struggling to keep their houses.

Wooooozee doesn't like the way "Bill Moyers Journal" is covering the story.

"[I]t is sad to hear this spoken as 'new news,' Wooooozee writes at YouTube's PBS Channel, where the "Moyers" piece is posted.

"[W]e are all - in some way - in collusion with these folks. [O]ur deal searchin', credit usin', no saving chickens are coming home to roost. [M]akes [J]ersey mob loansharks look like guppies."

A "Washington Week" discussion on the housing bill is also raising dander.

Chuckkottke writes, "[H]ow did 2 million people get duped into mortgages they couldn't afford? How did we let this one slide by?"more

It was another rowdy week in PBS's corner of cyberspace, marked by a series of wide-ranging discussions on the presidential race, the war in Iraq and Tavis Smiley's traveling museum exhibit on black history.

Gwen Ifill had some intriguing insights on her on her July 15 "NewsHour" interview with Barack Obama.

"It's interesting being backstage at these interviews, Gwen tells the Vote 2008 blog. "Barack Obama is a very controlled individual now. He realizes that everything he says can be seen and broadcast and YouTubed. So once he gets in front of that rolling camera he's very conservative in what he says and what he does."

Not everyone liked the way Gwen conducted the conversation.more

It's been a busy, noisy week in PBS's corner of cyberspace. For instance, users are debating a "To the Contrary" segment on YouTube's PBS Channel about Lt. Gen. Ann Dunwoody, who is poised to become the nation's first woman four-star general.

Specialks1953 writes, "I have nothing against women being recognized for their accomplishments. The best criteria would be, '[I]f she were a man would she have achieved her rank doing what she has done?' I do not know the answer to this question."

But likes2p takes a more inclusive view: "Congrats! Now women can be used cynically the same way as men in the military. Equal stupidity for all."

It seems Bill, a visitor to the "Vote 2008" blog at the "NewsHour" site, is feeling pretty cynical these days, too.more