photo by beastandbean

I am a Flip femme fatale.  Meaning, no one is safe from being captured by me on video with my trusty Flip video camera.

There is nothing more powerful than visual media in telling a story.  And there is something to be said for YouTube’s new $5 million Partner Grants program that will help fund the creators  of work  in the amounts of a few thousand to a few hundred thousand.

There is, of course, something self serving in the intent of this initiative.  YouTube is seeking to gain an edge over its rival, Hulu.com in attracting more professionally produced videos.  By enabling emerging video creators, YouTube will be leapfrogging over the mainstream gatekeepers of media who are already writhing in the death throes of a relentless and rapidly changing industry and building relationships with the artists directly.

I like that.

As a grantsmaker for Queens artists, I often wonder about how these emerging creative souls will reach larger audiences.  How will they connect with larger audiences?  What I am envisioning is a new wave of Internet companies partnering with the artist communities around the world.  It will be interesting to see who will curate the quality of this content in lieu of the old guard gatekeepers.

And partnerships?  Love the idea.  These can extend into the funding community as well.  Think of what a consortium of funders – arts councils, foundations, media companies, travel and tourism agencies, etc. – could build as creative industries.  Locally and globally.

Wow!

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