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Libraries and tigers and UFOs – they’re all stars on Fort Wayne’s various YouTube channels.
Here, you can watch a tiger enjoy hydrotherapy and see whether a convention morphs into an episode of “Librarians Behaving Badly.” Listen to a local chanteuse belt out her version of Beyoncé’s “Halo” and follow someone’s driving tour of downtown.
Besides those cats who just want to have fun, some local residents are using the wildly popular site (www.youtube.com) as a marketing tool. Their efforts haven’t gone viral yet, but you just never know.
A few of them shared their thoughts with The Journal Gazette.
Melissa Kiser, librarian: She posts weekly podcasts called “What is Happening this Week at your Library,” in which she discusses coming events and timely topics, at www.acpl.lib.in.us and YouTube.
“Your library needs to have a face. (The video) is something that attracts people and gives them a more personal connection,” says Kiser, an information technology librarian at the Allen County Public Library.
She picks a topic, writes a short script and films herself in various locations. Sometimes other people or props make an appearance. Her cat and a dog in the library’s “Paws to Read” program have shown their furry faces, too.
The production values are basic: “I like the ‘man-on-the-street’ sort of feel,” she says.
“Libraries are on tight budgets; it doesn’t cost us anything to do this – it’s part of a librarian’s job. We have so much competition out there. … It’s just important to use technology to address the people that aren’t coming into our building, to make our mark on the community,” she says.
“There’s so much info flowing around out there; people want a guide, and they want a personal connection.”
Kiser’s podcasts usually get a few hundred hits each week, which is enough to get her recognized. The library’s biggest hit: a video tour of the genealogy department that’s been viewed more than 9,000 times.
“It just makes me happy that people are going to the Web site. Librarians always want to tell people about what they’re reading and what’s going on at the library. (We) are all about finding information and sharing it,” she says.
Lori Gagen of Black Pine Animal Park: When she poured bubbles into a tiger’s bathtub, a star was born.
The result, “Rainy Day Tiger Fun,” is short but sweet, clocking in at a mere 27 seconds and showing Darly with a bubbly beard. The video has had 199 hits so far, the most of the park’s 15 posted videos.
The Albion park, home to about 80 rescued exotic animals, has its own channel at www.youtube.com/blackpineanimalpark. It also has 700 Facebook fans – many of whom posted comments after another tiger’s recent death – and a growing Twitter following.
“We’re building that base out there electronically, for sure. It’s too early to tell if it’s leading directly to funding increasing,” says Gagen, the park’s executive director.
“Engaging your supporters is just really important. And the best way to do that is at little or no cost.”
And because the park has donors around the country, social networking is also a fast way to reach them.
Gagen started posting videos on YouTube last winter after getting the idea from another non-profit sanctuary that makes good use of multimedia. If she knows the keepers will be doing something special for enrichment or moving an animal, she’ll try to film it.
“It’s driven by when I have the opportunity to film something; I don’t always have my camera in hand,” she says.
Other videos feature a veterinarian examining Luna the tiger and a black bear moving into the park.
The next one probably will be highlights of Black Pine Animal Park’s “Zooper Halloween,” the annual Halloween party.
Tasha DeNae, singer: During the past two years, she’s posted about 46 videos of herself performing. And she still has an additional 40 or so to upload when she can find the time.
She picks “the hottest songs, the ones you see on the tops of the charts. When you cover those, usually you can get a lot of hits,” she says.
Still waiting in the wings: Her versions of Beyoncé’s “Sweet Dreams,” Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold” and Whitney Houston’s “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.”
DeNae hopes those online hits will lead to song hits, ultimately. So far, it’s led to more bookings and more fans at her shows.
After people hear one song and like it, she says, they’ll go searching for more. And that’s where YouTube, MySpace and Twitter – she’s on them all – come in handy, especially for a new artist. Plus, she can read fan comments from all over the world.
“What works for me, I just try to post all my stuff on there. Just be real. I post things they can relate to or are familiar with, like (cover) songs,” DeNae says.
Winning a singing contest sponsored by the BET show “106 and Park,” as DeNae did a few months ago, doesn’t hurt, either. She also plans to release a CD soon.
