Vlogging comes to mass murder

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 by Dave Winer.

The Virginia Tech shooter sent a package of video and pictures to NBC. 

In other words, vlogging comes to mass murder, in ways no one anticipated (or no one I know). 

It makes perfect sense, in a perfectly senseless way. 

He sent the package in the 2 hours between the first and final killings. 

Note: I took this post down for a few hours this afternoon because it wasn't clear what was in the package, and if it would be released. We're watching it on MSNBC now. It's amazing stuff. The videos are Quicktime files. 

NBC should release all of the videos in Quicktime form as downloads. It's wrong to withhold them. 

They're sifting through them and deciding what to release and what not to release. 

It's 2007, and it's a decentralized world. We should all get a chance to see what's on those videos. 

GIven enough time the focus will go on their process, much better to just let it all out now, with no editorial judgement. 

If you have contacts in the blogging world or MSM that could influence NBC's decision, please pass this on. 

Micah Sifry: "There's no obligation to put it all out there..." 

NY Times: Package Forced NBC to Make Tough Decisions. 

Xeni Jardin at Boing Boing is chronicling the release (or lack) of the Cho "multimedia manifesto." 

Via email, Doc Searls nails a bunch of angles on this:

"Cho sent those recordings to a major broadcast network. Not to the police, not to other individuals. (Far as we know.) Clearly he wanted his recordings broadcast -- after the deeds were done, and he was dead as well.

"We don't know if he thought about uploading them to YouTube. But, since he planned to fill the rest of his morning with murder, it's likely that he didn't want to post his plans on the Live Web -- where somebody might see it and get authorities to stop him. So he opted instead for snail mail and a big bang later on the small screen. YouTube would come, inevitably, later.

"From what I gather, the police have seen and cleared the recordings for disclosure. So, presumably, there is no reason to protect anybody (for example, individuals Cho may have targeted for murder) other than broadcast viewers. (This is required by law, fwiw.)

"So I think Dave is right. If there is nothing to hide here, other than obscenities that cannot be broadcast on TV or radio, there is no reason why NBC should withhold the recordings other than the belief that they own them, and hold them as property. That's their right; but it does not help the rest of us get clues that might help prevent another tragedy like this one.

"And this tragedy isn't just about Cho and NBC. It's about the rest of us.

"So I agree with Dave. More eyes will make the this bug shallower. It may save lives. Even if we see a zillion mashups of the original video, which we'll see eventually anyway."