DLTQ.org

After Andreas complained about my English video yesterday, I decided to finally create my Danish-languaged blog, which you can find here. There you will find me write, in Danish, about whatever comes to my mind, and there I will also put all my Danish-languaged videos. Hope to see my Scandinavian friends there!

Context:

I realized lately, again, that my involvement in different organizations follows a pattern of intense involvement for a period of time followed by withdrawing from the scene. Almost like the graph of a heart-beat.

After the parliamentary elections in September 2005, where I mostly did videoblogging experiments, I quickly distanced myself from work in my political party, Unge Venstre, in Norway, where i had been active since 2002.

In 2002, I distanced myself from university student politics after my second year as president of MOSAIC after dealing with student politics since 1999 on faculty, university and european level.

In 1999, I suddenly stopped working within student cultural organizations, after volunteering at Det Akademiske Kvarter since spring 1998.

In each case, I got sickened by the inbreeding, the lack of continued knowledge management within the organization (or, rather, collective memory), and the power games. Most of all, I got sickened by my own - - losing the questions. I kept losing sight of why I was doing this, where my passion came from. I kept running around in circles, in deep philosophical thought, without getting things done. My own form of apathy was killing me, and I had to move on, I felt.

I have a confession to make. Well, I have several, and they include feeling terrible with how I parted with BlogSoft, among other things, but the one confession that is relevant for political videoblogging is:

I am sorry for losing the questions. For the two years of inactivity where I couldn’t motivate myself to anything, apart from helping my friend Lars-Henrik with his United Nations vlog last year, and helping organize VlogEurope this year (last year’s event in Milan I simply couldn’t get myself into dealing with at all, apart as a participant).

The returning passion
It started 5 weeks ago, when I met my new girl-friend, Michelle. I began seeing my life with new eyes. Yes, love helps that way, as the poets know all about. Then, VlogEurope this year, in Heidelberg, was important for me. Some of the great discussions that weekend reminded me of the passion of my earliest months of videoblogging. A few weeks ago I wrote a rambling post, trying to guide myself into my new path, and I mentioned a conversation I had with Tajee, who attended VlogEurope coming all the way from Tokyo. She is interested in, among other things, videoblogging in the context of a charity organization. Walking down the streets of the beautiful city of Heidelberg, talking with her about that, I suddenly felt like I had a cramp in my chest. I realized that I need to get back into this. Stop obsessing over how stupid I find ze shows. Gee, how cynical I had become with the development of videoblogging as yet another distribution channel for more of the same old crap! I should stop obsessing over what I don’t like, and instead focus on what I do like. What I believe in.

It was a process. I thought about public service vlogs, and I thought a lot about where political videoblogging is today, also asking for links at the videoblogging yahoogroups.

There were two things my friend Jay wrote that struck me. First was his comment about not making it so complicated, and showing what I love. Then was his comment about political videoblogging and the importance of transparent processes.

when I think innovative stuff….i think of a project where the
process is transparent…where the videos tell the story overtime.
where there is little spin, but instead I get to see people actually
do what they do.

Joining Radikal Ungdom
Last monday, September 17th, I joined Radikal Ungdom (Radical Youth), which is the Danish sister party of Unge Venstre, where I was active 02-05. In Unge Venstre, I was board member of Bergen Unge Venstre, member of the International Committee, member of the Balkan working group, and I launched a new magazine for international issues within the youth party.

Within 24 hours my vision for my work in the party was clear. I had contemplated being active with international work within the party, or joining the Balkan working group, or perhaps volunteering for the members magazine, but I ended up committing myself to videoblogging and blogging. Push the envelope on all ends, getting as many people in the party to videoblog as possible, or at least be more aware of what is happening in that area. Once again, to push. Push, without regard for how stupid I may look with my childlike naivety and enthusiasm.

.
.
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And it all comes back to me now, as I write this, at 7 AM on a september tuesday morning in Copenhagen. It all comes back to me, the silent moments in the past, and the moments where I connect two people, concepts, phrases or ideas, and the moments when I felt like my head was about to explode. My head feels like the last minute of this video right now:

Click To Play

(I created this video for the now defunct The PAN website. The PAN was a group videoblog with 8 editors from the U.S. and Europe)

Furthering political videoblogging in Denmark
Yesterday, I arranged the first of many vlog outings in Copenhagen. Unfortunately, only one other wanted to attend, but we went to Jagtvej 69 and took some footage about the situation with the Youth House, and we went to Nørrebroparken and talked about the development of rural spaces for the youth, and other things. Afterwards, we attended “Mediemandag” which is a weekly meeting about media and the use of media in my new party. Here we discussed many things, including the question “What is RSS?” which I was happy to tell them that I know about. We also did a short video for this blog that I made to simply show them the process.

My goal now is to get a team of people in the party together. The “vlog crew” would experiment, document, edit, and publish. It would do talking head videos, and it would do more provocative/humorous shorts that could be used to illustrate our own policy, or ridicule the policy of our “sworn enemies”. Personally, I especially look forward to taking a closer look at Karen Jespersen, who has political views I strongly disagree with.

Then, my goal is to take videoblogging to the next level at the annual general meeting of the Radical Youth on October 26th-28th. I can not reveal many details now, but if we manage to prepare this properly, it will be a landmark, at least for me.

I will organize weekly “vlog outings” on mondays at 5 PM, starting from the central square of Copenhagen. Videos from these expeditions will come online to a specific blog in a steady stream, and some of it will just enter the big data HQ for later use.

I hope to gain organizational/political support for these kinds of web-video projects within the party, and I hope that we can create a culture of videoblogging that can be of lasting effect.

This post is way too long, and way too meta, but it is important for me to write this. To write it out.

I am back in action. Now, let’s kick some butt!

So, I am at it again.

Click To Play

P1150039

Originally uploaded by dltq

Sometimes, I miss Bergen. The harbour area in May. The seven surrounding mountains. My friends.

But I do Not miss the rain.

PSV the video coming soon!

We know of public service announcements and public broadcasting channels like the British BBC, American PBS, Danish DR, or German ZDF.

But: What about Public Service Vlogs? Would it make sense to say that some videobloggers are mostly interested in doing “public service vlogging”, while others are interested in more commercial initiatives?

Is Alive in Baghdad a PSV? Surely! What about Ryan Is Hungry? Yup.

What else?

What videoblogs would you term a public service vlog?

So, I am on a quest to find as many PSVs out there as possible.

Where is the videoblogger who uploads video from a refugee camp in Darfur or Gaza, showing the world what life is like there and taking questions from comments on the site?

Where is the educational videoblog that guides you through the jungle of NGOs out there that deal with development aid in countries such as Nepal or Uganda?

Where is the videoblog that is your window to the world of a bunch of youngsters in Queens, NY, giving you the opportunity to interact with them and support them in their fight for more areas to safely hang out?

Where are the videoblogs consistently giving updates from New Orleans as it is today?

Do you know of any good PSVs? Please let me know!

Click To Play

A visit to DAC on September 12, 2007

Two of my videoblogger friends, Andreas Haugstrup Pedersen (DK) and Brittany Shoot, (USA) have now published their Lumiere Manifesto.

Here are a few quotes:

Online video has now for years allowed the advancement of personal narratives and showcased the world through the eyes of other video producers. At best, we display an edited view of our worlds. At worst, we destroy important viewpoints through unnecessary editing.

Voice-overs and credit rolls have long been used to over-explain how to interpret video, whereas the creator’s interpretation is not the most valuable perspective.

The value of moving pictures are in their potential for a multitude of interpretations, not as insipid entertainment or propaganda.

Read the rest at videoblogging.info

Here is my very first video on a website, from December 24th, 2004.

Click To Play

(Original blog-post is here)

As I have written several times here on DLTQ.org over the last years, it was a videoblog entry by Ryanne Hodson that finally convinced me that this was something I Really wanted to get involved in - this was a few hours after I had first discovered this thing called “videoblogging” - the first video by Dylan Verdi. It was the random footage, presented by Ryanne in her own fashion, that got me hooked. What if I can also do that? What if I can also present the reality around me to friends from around the world?

At about the same time as I discovered the work of Ryanne, Mica, Michael, Chris, Charlene, Shannon and others, I also very much got into the ethos of Jay Dedman’s videoblogging. He actually calls his vlog “Momentshowing” - and that really struck me. Momentshowing. Showing conversations. Beauty. The little things that make my country what it is, and not a country on the other end of the globe. Sharing particulars and - more importantly - all the things that are common. Our hopes, dreams, our insecurities, fears, anxiety.

When you simply want to show something, the production standard becomes less important. When you show your friend your city, you don’t necessarily treat your friend like a clueless tourist.

I remember a movie I shot while in New York for VloggerCon 2005. Outside, there was a blizzard, and I was inside, talking with Sean (I lost his URL) about his video project.

Click To Play

[source]

So: Lumiere Manifesto, showing moments, uncensored, without too much editing. (I have never followed any one set of rules consequently in my vlogging, but I guess I have a core sense of aesthetics)

What guided me through my early experiments with videoblogging was the concept of momentshowing from Jay, editing from Charlene, and a twist of subliminal messaging from Fight Club (in my case: Use of fast-flashing text)

Political and moral commitment

Tomorrow is election day in Norway. Every four years there are parliamentary elections, and every four years local elections. I was active in the local elections in 2003 and the parliamentary elections in 2005 for Venstre, but since the 05 election I have mostly shunned politics. Tomorrow is local elections day, and I haven’t voted, and neither I will not be in Norway tomorrow for voting on election day itself. In fact, I have not really been involved in any organization since the autumn of 05, besides The PAN (a group vlog) and helping organize VlogEurope this year. It’s as if my enthusiasm had been dried out. Why? Was it because my living space was so unsecure? Was it because of lack of a love life? Had I turned too cynical in my view of the future of videoblogging?

Last weekend was VlogEurope 2007, and even though we were fewer participants than the previous years, I utterly enjoyed the days. I shot a lot of footage, and this whole week I have been thinking a lot about …

Conversations

How do we take these conversations further?

Momentshowing.

So that the myriad of moments shown establish bigger patterns. Like pixels that, on a larger view, create images. Architectural beauty, or the smile of a girl, or the glow of a tulip.

One of the many discussions I enjoyed a lot was this conversation with Jan McLaughlin:

Click To Play

I love Jan and her work, her commitment to exploring, recontextualizing, breaking down boundaries. Being the faux press, pressing forward, asking questions.

There were so many threads during those conversations, and the countless others, it made my head go spinning, and it feels like this to me. My conceptions keep getting in the way, and I don’t really LISTEN.

To me, the Lumiere Manifesto is about listening. And sharing so others can better listen. Because the videos don’t have audio, it is less controlling. During VlogEurope we talked about “no comment” segments from Euronews. Very interesting look at what the lack of a voice-over can do to reporting.

Personally? Future? This? I was inspired by something Tajee said in Heidelberg about videoblogging and its wider use. She is involved with charity work, for instance, and it is obvious how videoblogging can be a good channel in that sector. The conversation became another thread in my own quest for “the next step”. I work in an academic bookstore in Copenhagen. I read books. I hang out with my new girlfriend. My story has not had a 2-year long break - - but it has been very internalized. I went through a lot in Oslo in 05/06, and I went through a lot after moving to Denmark in 06. I have for quite some time felt that it is time to go external again, and basically I am now looking for “the cause”. Yesterday, I was excited about NABUUR, untill I saw the infighting and bickering over details at their blog. It’s all so frigging predictable. Worrying about status, money, funding, prestige. The whole “not invented here” syndrome. Idiots.

(Of course, I may be the idiot here, and the NABUURs are doing vvery constructive work in their endless discussions about technicalities. Just like it may actually be Very Very important exactly HOW a sentence is shaped in a legal document to be voted over in Congress.)

So, I now wonder where I can be useful. Where my skillset can fill a need. If it is noncommercial work, I will volunteer. I need to get involved with new people, or do something with people I know already. Do something new. A project. During VlogEurope I contemplated a lot about putting work into the VlogEurope site, creating a real, living blog there where we could point to interesting videoblogging projects in Europe. Maybe some of those projects that are not typically mentioned on Rocketboom or Xolo.tv. I miss being in a team. Actually, watching a session Drew Olanoff from Scriggity did at podcamp philly reminded me of that. I think Alive in Baghdad is a superb team effort.

What can I do? So many of us wonder about that. How can we help individuals? Make a difference? Yadiyada.

Localism while being global in spirit. A lesson to learn there, perhaps.

My future in terms of how I spend my spare time? No ideas, except that I am open for ideas, and I want to get involved with some team or organization that has goals and methods I can agree with.

Suggestions?