Casual visitors to VideoSift might use it simply as an aggregator that points them to better-than-average video content, but regular contributors clearly put a significant amount of time and effort into their posts, comments, channels and blogs. I suspect that the feeling of participating in a community is an important part of the motivation for this activity.

In a "real world" community, we often see that people volunteer their time in the interest of improving and maintaining the community: it feels good, it benefits everyone, it helps people socialize with like-minded fellows and it also builds social capital for active and visible members. I'd like to see a discussion on the community aspect of VideoSift and how important this is for users of this site.

For example (these are just to get your mental gears turning; feel free to answer some, all or none of these in your response):

* Can you describe the feeling of community that you associate with VideoSift?

* Is your level of activity on VideoSift similar to that of other communities you may be a member of (virtual or otherwise)?

* What kind of community is VideoSift? E.g.: PTA, Scouts, high school, street gang, reading circle, sports team, merry pranksters, Shriners, neighborhood?

* How would you compare the community atmosphere of VideoSift to that of other similar sites, such as Digg, StumbleUpon or YouTube? Or any other types of sites, forums or newsgroups you can think of?


(Please note that responses to this topic may be used in a term paper I am writing about "voting community" sites as a new type of medium for communication and self-expression. I will discuss the basic genre, but will be focusing on VideSift because it is my favorite. See my profile text for more.)

Finding, submitting, titling, tagging and describing a video submission takes time and effort, but everybody here does it often. What motivates us and how do we choose which videos are worthy to submit?

I have some ideas and would like to hear your comments on any of these or any others you have:

* Even though these are not self-created videos, the act of submitting them here represents at the very least active reception of media, as opposed to the notion of the passive couch potato. Have you ever considered the degree to which posting found videos is itself a creative activity? If it is, what are you creating here?

* Do you consciously try to submit top-15 titles and/or to amass as many star points as possible? Is there a gaming aspect at work here?

* Do you enjoy calling attention to obscure videos just because you think they deserve more exposure?

* Do you look for videos that complement the selection of videos you have already submitted? I.e., do you establish one or more themes for your VideoSift persona?

* Do you consciously try to establish an online identity or personality connected with your selection of videos? Do you think this identity resembles yourself in real life?


(Please note that responses to this topic may be used in a term paper I am writing about "voting community" sites as a new type of medium for communication and self-expression. I will discuss the basic genre, but will be focusing on VideSift because it is my favorite. See my profile text for more.)

On this site, we have the ability to vote any video up or down, but the criteria for doing so are totally undefined. It seems like everybody establishes their own criteria--I’d like to see a discussion what these are.

For example:
* What types of content make you want to vote up or down?
* When you do vote, are you conscious of the fact that that other users will see that YOU voted for a given video?
* Does the presence of certain users in the “voted for” or “voted against” list make you more or less likely to vote for a given video?
* Other thoughts?

I suppose this topic has come up before. If anybody has relevant links to previous discussions, I'd love to see them.

(Please note that responses to this topic may be used in a term paper I am writing about "voting community" sites as a new type of medium for communication and self-expression. I will discuss the basic genre, but will be focusing on VideSift because it is my favorite. See my profile text for more.)