With the rise in midday video snacking, BigThink is hoping to appeal to snackers looking for more than just some passive lunchtime amusement. The new niche video site (currently in beta) features experts in a wide array of subjects, from business to science to politics, usually answering one question in only 3 to 5 minutes. Simple. Viewers can watch, embed, and share videos of “big thinkers” like Senator John McCain, Psychologist Steven Pinker, and NY Times columnist and economist Paul Krugman sharing their punditry as concisely as possible. Currently, BigThink’s library includes 2,000 clips from 85 thinkers but is constantly growing. The site hopes to eventually feature new interviews on a daily basis.
Site users are encouraged to engage in a dialogue with fellow viewers - not only can they comment on the videos, they can also vote on whether they agree or disagree with the speaker’s point of view and suggest topics for future interviews. While snacksized intellectual fodder can already be found readily on the web (see iTunesU, Ted Talks, Fora.TV), BigThink is focused on creating a forum around its clips and the debates they conjure, with viewers interacting with one another as well as some big thinkers.
[via TechCrunch]
Please check out my blog posting for a critique of BigThink’s use of “experts.” I am very hopeful that the site will evolve to include perspectives from non-elite experts (rather than just pundits, captains of industry, Big Names, and politicians) because, if it does, it could be a powerful agent of change.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
If you like Big Think (mentioned above), you should check out another newly launched site, TheFinalClub.org.
Although lacking video content of famous academics, TheFinalClub.org has a much more thorough engagement with intellectual ideas. The site includes comprehensive blogs of Harvard courses, including Social Thought in Modern America and another extraordinarily popular class, called Justice. The site also includes in-depth annotations of great works of literature, philosophy, and history with an innovative linking system.
January 23rd, 2008 at 1:45 pm