Success rating: better than last time.

This time we weren’t attempting to revive dead technology, so the end result was much more sleek.

In creating this playlist project, we focused on 1. collaboration and 2. non-linearity.

Given YouTube is a platform built around non-linearity — you can bounce from a video of a musician being interviewed to the deepest of conspiracy theories in a single click (suggested video functionality, based on search history, etc.) — we wanted to create some semblance of linearity/clarity in amongst the mess. Inviting anyone in the world with a touch of media skills to contribute, we set out a handful of basic rules that incentivise people to become a link in the chain. This of course ties into the process of collaboration: we have created the means, and we are giving the media creators of the world the ends.

In short, we learned that although these online platforms are becoming more dense and advanced, they still have their shortcomings. The editing suite in YouTube that we invited our collaborators to use to play their part in the media making has its limitations. We chose an audio file from the free array of music in its database that was accessible to all to increase the likelihood of people collaborating: the easier something is to access, the more likely people will respond to it (this is why Facebook videos by default are on autoplay; in turn, Facebook’s algorithm was altered to prioritise videos. Nobody opens your YouTube links anymore, but if you share a Facebook video you’re almost guaranteed some engagement. We are simple and / or lazy beings).

We originally planned to focus exclusively on mobile footage as this was the most accessible. We’ve all got smartphones, etc. Of course, we had a major oversight in that we were designing this playlist on a computer, where YouTube’s functionality is in full: editing suite provided. In asking people to upload straight from mobile, we forgot that this suite isn’t available on the mobile app. Therefore, we buffed our description to “media creators”; media makers, those with a basic competence when it came to moving files from device to device (you’d be surprised!).

Incentive also proves tumultuous. In our highly digital days, we find less and less time to step outside the comfort zones of our typical social media routines. Someone who exclusively uses a certain handful of apps every day amongst a busy schedule isn’t necessarily going to contribute (please do). Even then, if you find yourself an avid YouTube user, discovering or finding the means to contribute to this project isn’t exactly easy. Contribution to random, small scale projects like these is very much a niche practice. Finding an audience in the mesh of ideas and links and large scale social networking sites is a million times the problem. You need a platform to rally, and people to comply. Large scale collaboration is difficult.

Within the project, we attempted to create non-linearity in the linearity. The linearity comes from our efforts to curate some of the messiness that is intrinsic to YouTube. Given the content of the project (the vagueness in what’s being asked from a contributor’s video), non-linearity is inherent in the making. The playlist has a shuffle function which can be used to enhance this non-linearity (going against a predetermined arrangement of videos). Hopefully, over time, we can see some contribution to the project. The theory is there; execution is another part entirely.

For next time: how do incentivise collaboration; how can we get people to interact, contribute? What limits does the YouTube playlist functionality have? What other platforms have untraveled functions that we can explore?