Ryeberg.com publishes essays about YouTube videos (or videos from any other video-sharing site), curated by writers and artists. We say that each of these individual essays is a “curated video,” though many refer to them as “video essays” or “Ryebergs.”
written text + video clip/s = a curated video
Ryeberg is what happens when you combine the discursive essay with online video. You get yourself a brand new essay form.
This makes Ryeberg Curated Video an “online magazine” but with that important difference: essays always include video clips, either as a starting point or as lyrical counterpoint to the text. Ryeberg curators write about whatever they feel like writing about.
When did Ryeberg launch?
The first Ryeberg essays went up on June 14th, 2009.
What’s the purpose of Ryeberg?
Watching and sharing video clips has become a routine part of our lives, and why not have a site dedicated to making sense of it all. Ryeberg believes that online video can be the source of compelling questions and useful discussion, but that it doesn’t speak for itself.
The purpose of Ryeberg is to make good use of some of the video content pouring through cyberspace, and to surround it with intelligent, convivial discourse.
Websites that organize and present the most interesting internet videos already exist. How is Ryeberg any different?
Ryeberg believes that the way videos are framed and presented shapes their meaning and our experience of them. Sites like Frequency and Devour (both launched in 2011) understand this, and do a good job at showcasing the best videos from YouTube and other popular video-sharing websites.
Ryeberg operates in a different way. The organizing principle of the website is the curators themselves. Their enthusiasms and interests dictate what videos appear, just as their commentary shapes how we see those videos. Ryeberg’s Themes section, which separates the video essays into categories, has been evolving as content appears on the site.
The diversity of Ryeberg curators means that the site offers no particular bias, no final word, and no totalizing discourse. Ryeberg is a kind of disjointed collaboration, but one that encourages friendly and meaningful exchange.
OK, but video hosting sites like YouTube already have text comment sections. Why do we need Ryeberg?
The commentary sections on video-sharing sites tend to fall short of the task that Ryeberg seeks to accomplish, and this is not only because of word limits.
Ryeberg refers to its contributors as “curators” for a reason — to suggest that they are dealing with video clips in much the same way a gallery curator deals with works of art: Ryeberg curators select from the vast, disordered warehouses of video-sharing sites, then interpret and present their videos in a way that best serves their perspectives and purposes.
A “Ryeberg” — the end product in this process — is neither wholly video nor wholly text. It’s the most modern essay. In a sense, it’s a genre unto itself, defined by its two indivisible, organic parts: video and text.
I still don’t quite get it. Tell me more.
Perhaps you should read a few of the essays. You might also want to check out this nicely written article which appeared in The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national paper, pretty soon after Ryeberg’s launch. Or else read this interview with Erik Rutherford, Ryeberg Editor-In-Chief, which appeared on Open Book before Ryeberg’s first live event.
Why is the website called “Ryeberg”?
“Ryberg” was the maiden name of Erik Rutherford’s Swedish grandmother. Her father was Rudolf Ryberg, so the site is a variation on the good man’s good name. Erik Rutherford is the creator of Ryeberg.com, and its Editor-in-Chief.
Rudolf Ryberg (1896-1981)
Does Ryeberg ever host any live events in the non-cyber world?
Yes, Ryeberg put on a live show at the Drake Hotel in Toronto in June, 2010. A fantastic evening. You can see pictures from the event right here. The next show will happen out on Canada’s west coast: Ryeberg Live Vancouver — 6 March, 2012. You can buy tickets right here. Mark your calendars for Monday, 19 March as well for Ryeberg Live Toronto 2012. If you want to be informed of dates and places, leave your email here.
How does one become a Ryeberg Curator?
Ryeberg Curators are invited by Ryeberg to curate for the site. As it turns out, most are artists and writers. If you think this kind of curatorial work is for you, please click on the Ryeberg button.
