Everyone is wondering when the video of Steve Irwin’s death (the actual film of him getting stabbed in the chest by a stingray) is going to hit the airwaves. At first I thought to myself “Oh that is going to hit YouTube in a week”. But the more and more I think about this, I have to disagree with myself. I don’t think that this video will _ever_ hit YouTube. Not if YouTube wants to stay popular because the fact of the matter is, watching a famed hero die is not something I want my kids doing. Now I know all about the movements on the Internet to produce a free environment for sharing information. This is not about that.
What it is about though is “Where in the hell did all of those Steve Irwin Video’s come from” Seriously though, I looked at the site today (because I was half curious) and in the last day over 200 videos were posted about Steve Irwin. Most of them are tributes and/or parodies about Steve. I wonder where the footage comes from? Do they tivo it and download it to their computers? Are we seeing the advancements in video sharing as a result of operating systems like Windows Media Server? Too be honest I don’t have Steve Irwin video footage hanging out on my computer. This is amazing. This guy wrestled alligators. Big alligators. I was actually a bit surprised to hear that it wasn’t an alligator or a wicked poisonous snake that finally got the best of him.
That aside, what I think is truly remarkable is that we are seeing the beginnings of the new medium at work. People armed with their super fast computers, broadband connection, DVD burners and editing software, are now sharing their thoughts and ideas in ways that I could only dream.
Rock on YouTube and please…keep the Steve Irwin death video off the site…please.
This blog has moved http://www.notronwest.com please go there now 
September 7, 2006 at 3:17 am
ah the video revolution- it’s most interesting. youtube and google video lead the way, with strong followers you may or may not have heard of tailing behind.
they always block bad stuff, so i wouldn’t worry about the death video being up there– well, not for long anyways.
it will be on the net somewhere somehow, i bet you that- but you are right about the shifting social stucture of the internet. and yet, if you think about the nature of the net back in 1995, was is so different? it’s a deep question- but i believe this: the net has been, and will always be: a way for people to share. 1995 it was geocities and my dog- 2005 it was my own server …and my dog. capitalism is a bi-product of everything (it can be) — but it was never about that despite how it appears now. i have to believe this, you see… because its that idea that keeps the fire burning.
September 7, 2006 at 5:57 am
I too once thought of the internet as something bigger than just a capitalist idea. If you remember correctly (and this is why purists like our selves still find hope in the Internet) the Internet was truly designed as a communications device by our good friends at ARPNET. It is the Web (HTML) which breeds capitalism.
It is this inner feeling that you have (which is shared by everyone with a blog and certainly those posting movies celebrating the life of a crazy animal tamer) which will bring the Internet (Web included) to that sacred place which makes all that we do here worthwile.
Keep on moving…don’t stop.
September 8, 2006 at 3:02 am
nicely put my friend. knowing where we came from will always lead us in the right direction.
September 14, 2006 at 8:35 am
Why not show the footage of Irwin’s death. The world has watched the death of JFK in slow motion replay millions of times on TV. Where is the difference?
September 15, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Maybe it is the same thing. And maybe since I have kids now, I look at things a bit different. Just not sure I want them subjected to that information.
With the whole JFK thing though – it was a _bit_ different because it was not as easily accessible. You Tube will make this thing so wide open.
I hear where you are coming from.
August 3, 2007 at 1:24 pm
[…] Irwin had on the web’s video revolution. I still have daily hits from search engines for my Steve Irwin […]
March 31, 2008 at 7:21 pm
rest in peace steve erwin you rock hard