April 2, 2021, 8:35 a.m.
Volume 2, Resources 7: Video Captions, Tree.fm, and Fighting Misinformation
Enthusiastic Encouragement & Dubious Advice
Hi friends! On Wednesday I got rear-ended (boo! I’m fine, though!) and yesterday was my birthday. Did any of this stop me from writing today’s newsletter though? Absolutely not! I still have a ton of goodies to mail out so if you want one, send me your mailing address! Also, here’s a gratuitous photo of me in my new jumpsuit:
And also a photo of my birthday ice cream:
This week is a resource week so let’s get to it!
Resource #1: Captions on Instagram Stories
Please, I beg of you: Caption your videos. The captions are not only helpful for folks who are Deaf or HOH (hard of hearing) but captions help so many types of people. They help me when I can’t have the sound up on my phone. Some people process information better when it is not only audible but when they can read it as well. To tell the truth, if a video doesn’t have captions, I usually skip past it. There are many apps out there that can help you do this, like AutoCap. The great news is, for Instagram users, there is now a captioning option for stories. This short reel has a quick overview.
Resource #2: Tree.fm
Tree.fm is an absolutely lovely site for ambient sounds of forests around the world. Not a digital sound mixer, but actual recordings that people have taken of forests. Check out this map of sounds that form an open source library. So cool! I think you can also submit your own recorded forest sounds as well.
Resource #3: How to Talk to Friends & Family Who Share Misinformation via Los Angeles Public Library
As usual, librarians are doing the important work! In this post, Ana Campos, (Senior Librarian, International Languages Department) interviews Nora Benavidez (Director of U.S. Free Expression Programs) and Hannah Waltz (Media Literacy Training Coordinator) at PEN America about the misinformation, media literacy, and why this is something we should all care about.
There are also links to PEN America’s tip sheets on talking to friends and family who share misinformation (English and Spanish) as well as some recommended books.
That’s it for this week! If you want to send me some snail mail, you can find me at P.O. Box 21481, Oakland, CA 94620-1481.
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