Youtube changing the face of academia

You can get famous if your video (with you doing some schtick inside) gets so many hits that the thermometer just bursts.

Now, many events taking place in academia can be videotaped and shared on youtube. Unfortunately, since this is not a live webcast, one does not get to ask questions or be an active agent. However, this provides a new way in which the latest research and developments in the knowledge industry can be quickly disseminated.

The scientific industry/academe is jumping in with their own SCIVEE TV in a bid to bring science to the public. It is possible to turn your paper or presentation into a video and have it uploaded.

How would the rest of us in the humanities follow suit, and how can we do it in a way that’s interesting and creative? One cannot say that the current generation of humanists are IT illiterate since IT has pervaded the way in which the universities run their business.

Another question that begs to be asked: would this begin to make readers less inclined to read, if they can get all the dense materials condensed into a visual monad?