Students tap online video-sharing service for entertainment, promotion
Susie Wahrman/Staff Writer
Posted: 9/8/06
When the University's Les Turchin Chabad House was brainstorming ways to recruit new members for the fall 2006 semester, Chabad volunteer Nechama Verter had an idea.
Like nearly every college student in the United States, Verter had been playing around with the free video-sharing website Youtube.com, and she thought of using the Web site to publicize events.
As a result, the Chabad House created the concept of weekly Tuesday night "Jewtube Nights;" Chabad social events are videotaped and later broadcast on the popular Web site for University students to watch and enjoy.
"It's easy to use and convenient, and it's a great way to get Chabad events out there," Verter said. "Once the first video goes up, it will bring a lot of people to both the web site and Chabad events."
Chabad President Jennifer Biddick, a Rutgers College senior, agreed.
"I hope that YouTube can help get people to come to RU Chabad," Biddick said. "Once you see yourself on a video, you'll tell your friends, 'Come see me on the Internet!'"
Biddick also emphasized the web site's advantages for advertising.
"It's a great way to advertise events, since you don't need to know anything about computers to use it," Biddick said.
Many other University organizations have also been using YouTube. University football games, choir performances and fraternity happenings are commonly uploaded onto the site. Frequently viewed videos include the recap of the Rutgers University 2006 Dance Marathon and a collection of clips from the Rutgers 2005 football season.
Using YouTube.com as a publicity tool is only one of the many ways University students have been using video-sharing sites like YouTube.com and video.google.com. Over the past few months, these sites have been growing rapidly, because people constantly put comedic videos on the Internet to share with their friends.
"It's a really great place to watch funny movies," said Ariella Gutin, a Douglass College junior. Approximately 370 Rutgers and global facebook groups are dedicated to students' love for amusing YouTube videos.
Sites like YouTube.com have also become well-known for becoming a propaganda tool. "The only time I ever use YouTube is to watch political videos," said Rutgers College junior Nina Sherman. "And for sure everything is slanted."
But Rutgers School of Engineering junior Benji Vinick said the spread of propaganda should not be blamed solely on sites like YouTube.
"Students can fall for any propaganda if they allow themselves to do so," Vinick said. "Newspaper articles can cause the same problem. It's not the site's fault that these videos are being hosted - it's the users' fault."
As of last week, YouTube has launched a new branch of the site, which is dedicated to college students. So far 31 college networks have been added to the site, including Rutgers University. Similar to Facebook.com, all one needs is a university email address, and a student can join his or her school's network and upload videos specifically to share with other university students.
There are currently 30 members of the Rutgers network and four videos have been posted. However, the numbers are slowly growing.
According to the college YouTube Web site, with this new system "It's easier than ever to share videos with friends at your college on YouTube. [Simply] join up, and add videos to the pool."
© Copyright 2006 The Daily Targum
Susie Wahrman/Staff Writer
Posted: 9/8/06
When the University's Les Turchin Chabad House was brainstorming ways to recruit new members for the fall 2006 semester, Chabad volunteer Nechama Verter had an idea.
Like nearly every college student in the United States, Verter had been playing around with the free video-sharing website Youtube.com, and she thought of using the Web site to publicize events.
As a result, the Chabad House created the concept of weekly Tuesday night "Jewtube Nights;" Chabad social events are videotaped and later broadcast on the popular Web site for University students to watch and enjoy.
"It's easy to use and convenient, and it's a great way to get Chabad events out there," Verter said. "Once the first video goes up, it will bring a lot of people to both the web site and Chabad events."
Chabad President Jennifer Biddick, a Rutgers College senior, agreed.
"I hope that YouTube can help get people to come to RU Chabad," Biddick said. "Once you see yourself on a video, you'll tell your friends, 'Come see me on the Internet!'"
Biddick also emphasized the web site's advantages for advertising.
"It's a great way to advertise events, since you don't need to know anything about computers to use it," Biddick said.
Many other University organizations have also been using YouTube. University football games, choir performances and fraternity happenings are commonly uploaded onto the site. Frequently viewed videos include the recap of the Rutgers University 2006 Dance Marathon and a collection of clips from the Rutgers 2005 football season.
Using YouTube.com as a publicity tool is only one of the many ways University students have been using video-sharing sites like YouTube.com and video.google.com. Over the past few months, these sites have been growing rapidly, because people constantly put comedic videos on the Internet to share with their friends.
"It's a really great place to watch funny movies," said Ariella Gutin, a Douglass College junior. Approximately 370 Rutgers and global facebook groups are dedicated to students' love for amusing YouTube videos.
Sites like YouTube.com have also become well-known for becoming a propaganda tool. "The only time I ever use YouTube is to watch political videos," said Rutgers College junior Nina Sherman. "And for sure everything is slanted."
But Rutgers School of Engineering junior Benji Vinick said the spread of propaganda should not be blamed solely on sites like YouTube.
"Students can fall for any propaganda if they allow themselves to do so," Vinick said. "Newspaper articles can cause the same problem. It's not the site's fault that these videos are being hosted - it's the users' fault."
As of last week, YouTube has launched a new branch of the site, which is dedicated to college students. So far 31 college networks have been added to the site, including Rutgers University. Similar to Facebook.com, all one needs is a university email address, and a student can join his or her school's network and upload videos specifically to share with other university students.
There are currently 30 members of the Rutgers network and four videos have been posted. However, the numbers are slowly growing.
According to the college YouTube Web site, with this new system "It's easier than ever to share videos with friends at your college on YouTube. [Simply] join up, and add videos to the pool."
© Copyright 2006 The Daily Targum
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