As the evolution of Web 2.0 technologies progresses, we are afforded more options for delivering content. Further, the audience that we are able to reach also increases in size. For my IT157N class, I've been tasked with a number of assignments. One of which was to compare/critique the delivery of health-related content by way of Second Life and YouTube. As I stated in my last post on 12/20/10, I came to the conclusion that while Second Life is capable of delivering a wealth of information, the actual user experience can be lacking (if not downright unbearable). This is due to the fact that no two areas in Second Life are the same as far as navigability and overall ease of use. These shortcomings can be further exasperated by exploring Second Life on a computer that contains sub-par hardware.
Enter YouTube
YouTube is another option that healthcare establishments have at their disposal. Since 2005, users have been able to deliver content to the web at large via YouTube. Thanks to their ever increasing capacity and support for a plethora of video formats, YouTube is the preferred medium of anyone looking to share their media, individuals and organizations alike.
The following is a video posted by PreOp.com, a website that specializes in instructional videos for a variety of inpatient/outpatient, exploratory, and surgical procedures.
http://bit.ly/dIx6Ew
Rather than having to sift the the vast (or paltry) amounts of information contained within Second Life, YouTube allows you to search for videos that specifically relate to what you are looking to learn more about. Furthermore, there's a comment feature that allows users to interact, enabling them to ask more specific questions, make comments/observations, and offer criticism. YouTube offers a clean, simple, easily navigable environment that makes finding more about any topic as simple a few keystrokes.
