U.S. Military Launches TroopTube, Other Military Videos Available Online
You’ve heard of YouTube by now (unless you’ve been living in a cave), but have you heard about TroopTube? The website is a military approved alternative to YouTube.
The military and YouTube have butted heads in the past. YouTube didn’t mind the content, but the military wanted more control over what was uploaded to the site by troops. In May of 2007, the US Military banned YouTube, Myspace and other similar sites.
TroopTube is currently in beta status - which means it works, but there may be small problems or gotchas that they don’t know about. As word of this site spreads, I’m sure it’s going to be used a lot by members of the military and their families.
The website is run by Military OneSource, an authorized Department of Defense program for Active Duty, Guard, Reserve and their families.
On the official TroopTube website, they offer this greeting:
TroopTube is the new online video site designed to help military families connect and keep in touch while miles apart. The site is designed for easy use, so you can quickly upload videos and share the simple joys of each day with each other, either privately or with the whole world. Sign up today and begin sharing videos by clicking here. Already have a TroopTube account? Sign in here.
At the time of this post, TroopTube currently contains General David Petraeus’ message to the troops
and Wives’ shout-out to 3rd Brigade A Troop 133 Cavalry. I’m sure as word spreads about the new site, more and more content will be available.
According to the AP, Delve Networks helped the military design the website. Delve Networks is a technology start-up based in Seattle, Washington. Their big product currently is the Delve Video Platform. It’s not clear is this is the exact same software that the military purchased or if theirs was customized.
One of the cool things about Delve’s video platform is that it transcribes audio in the videos and uses that text to help make videos even easier to find. This might not seem like a very big thing, but if TroopTube is loaded with even a fraction of the content that’s found on YouTube, people are going to want to be able to get to the content they want to see quickly.
On TroopTube, members of the military or their family members can post video to share. Before being posted on the site, though, all content is screened by the military to make sure it’s appropriate, tasteful and doesn’t contain anything that would compromise national security.
While a lot of people will be talking about TroopTube in the weeks and months ahead (especially as the Holiday Season falls upon us), there are other options out there too. One of the best that I’ve found is the Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System, or dvidshub.net for short.
This is a great source for military video - both polished and finished package pieces and also longer B-Roll footage. B-Roll footage refers to the extra video they have after putting together a short package piece. Sometimes, though, these types of videos give you a better look at what it’s like for the troops around the world.
There are other classifications for the video content there as well, including Newscasts, Interviews, Greetings, Briefings, PSAs (Public Service Announcements), a series called In The Figh, and even Command Messages.
You’re not going to get gory, blood filled Hollywood representation of war via videos at either of these sites. You will, however, get a small glimpse of what it’s like to be in the military today.
Somewhere between the Hollywood version of war and the version of the war shown on TroopTube and sites like dvidshub lies the documentary video. The Discovery Channel has a great military channel available online with clips from documentaries about past and present wars.
If that’s still not enough military video for you, YouTube is still a valid option for you. You might not see videos from the military there, but you will find a lot of tribute videos and videos that show support for the troops.
These are sometimes heartbreaking and sometimes inspirational. Watching more than one or two a day, though, is not recommended as they can really start working over your emotional buttons.
With the launch of TroopTube, it seems the US military is finally utilizing technology to help better connect military personnel and also their family, wherever they might be in the world. It’s a relatively small thing in the grand scheme of things, but I’m sure it’s going to mean a lot of people all over the world this Holiday Season.
This is Sgt Stryker Signing out.
