Lambda the Ultimate

I regret so much of this content is produced in video format, probably the less efficient to consume. Text interviews (or transcripts), that would be great.

When your eyes are otherwise idle, I agree that an article is much more efficient. I love watching these videos while doing other things, like cooking, washing the dishes, exercise or doing laundry. You can't comfortably read an article while doing those. Just a thought.

How can you watch a video either while doing something else? I even have a hard time listening to podcasts while working out, maybe I'm just single threaded?

The very nice thing about a printed article is the ability to skim and scan. A video can't be scanned, though I guess if you use it in the background you can scan the contents while doing something else?

Well, being interviews, you don't miss too much when only only listen them. And the content is information sparse enough that you can follow them without 100% attention. I guess it depends on what you're doing. Personally I often watch MIT and Stanford video lectures while using an indoor bicycle trainer as both activities seem to run on different processing units, but wouldn't be able to follow a podcast when biking outside (and it would be dangerous).

One of the great things about watching and listening to a conversation is that you become a fly on a wall, behind the camera. You get a richer and in-situ experience as a casual observer (in this case, you get to stay dry, too :). These conversations aren't simply technical tutorials or essays: they're conversations with great people and recorded in a medium that makes the experience more realistic. If you've ever spoken with Simon or John, then you'd know that if you were to just read an interview with them you'd lose out on so much of their passion and personality. Sometimes it's really nice to see and hear humans talking about what matters so much to them.

In terms of transcripts, generally. Yes, this is an area where we are sorely lacking on Channel 9. We aim to improve on this in 2012.

What we try to do on C9 with conversational video is to make the experience of the conversation as close to being real - or live - as possible. Like all of these "classic" style C9 conversations you've seen over the years, this one happened as it did - no script. No rehearsal. Camera starts recording and a conversation happens. It's the people in frame that make it great.

Much thanks to Simon and John for doing these - and in the rain in one case! I love where Haskell is going and it's an honor to get the opportunity to speak with people of this intellectual caliber.

C

I'm not arguing against the utility of videos, just my opportunities to consume them. If time is limited, you can't beat text for scanning to see if you want to read the whole thing or just skip it, you don't get that opportunity with video...you have to wade through the pleasantries of a beginning and watch it for at least 2 minutes before you can decide to skip or not. I'm much more likely to take a chance on a known quantity in this case (say SPJ vs. someone I've never heard of before).

Transcripts would be cool. We definitely have the technology to automate some of that.

Perhaps you could do a best of C9 someday where you go and cut and aggregate the best parts from a bunch of interviews. Hmm...

I like the idea of a best-of (we've talked about this as a team several times). In terms of time, given the sheer number of videos, it would be quite the endeavor, but one well worth the time.

In general, we can provide linked entry points into specific topics that take place in our videos. I need to make this a priority before shipping them, but there's a time cost. Better that I pay the time tax than viewers. I'll do better here.

C

Crowd sourcing could help here. Many people watch the videos, they could provide the links themselves, add to the summary, transcripts, whatever they want...

True. :)

Many people cannot read faster than they can talk/hear. I, however, can read up to twenty times faster with full retention, depending on how complex the content is. I cannot understand either audio or video speeded up twenty times, even with pitch adjustment. So listening is a grossly inefficient way to absorb verbal content for me.

Of course, everyone's not me, but I am always grateful when there is a transcript.

I was going to, but I don't want to spam this place with too many C9 interviews I do... This one is an instant classic. It's also very human.

C