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The new requirements for web sites were rushed into legislation after the death of a popular Korean actress, Choi Jin Sil, who was driven to suicide after a series of online rumors and threats. Since people now have to submit their real name when uploading content, the government hopes this will cut down on the problem of cyber-bullying in the country.

Or perhaps that’s just what they want you to believe, say critics. The Korea Times, for example, notes that it’s more likely that the government is simply continuing its crackdown on free speech. Already they have been “repeatedly attacked by bloggers,” the paper reports, “first over the controversial decision to resume U.S. beef imports, and more recently for its ineptitude in economic policies. The watershed moment came in January when police arrested Park Dae-sung, a blogger known more widely as ‘Minerva’ and a frequent critic of the government’s economic polices, on charges of ‘deliberately’ undermining public interest by distributing fraudulent information.”

Google Provides an Alternative Method for Uploads

In response to the new legislation, Google has decided they would rather prevent uploads and comments instead of requiring YouTube users to submit their real names and national ID number – a number similar to the United State’s Social Security Number and yet another requirement of the new law.

“We have a bias in favor of freedom of expression and are committed to openness,” said Lucinda Barlow, a spokeswoman for YouTube in Asia. “It’s very important that if users want to be anonymous that they have that chance.”

Another Google spokesperson, Rachel Whetstone, vice president of Global Communications & Public Affairs at Google, was quoted in The Hankyoreh newspaper as saying  “we concluded in the end that it is impossible to provide benefits to internet users while observing this country’s law because the law does not fall in line with Google’s principles.”

In addition to blocking uploads and comments, Google informed Korean YouTube users via their Korean Google blog that they can change their preference setting to a country other than Korea if they want to continue to upload and comment on videos.

An Easy Way for Google to Look Good?

If Google had implied with the law, it would have represented the first time that the company had ever collected the actual names of internet users.

Still, while many are congratulating Google on taking a stand and protecting freedom of expression on the internet, in this case the company wasn’t really risking that much. That’s because in Korea, Google has a much smaller presence than its domestic counterparts like www.naver.com and www.daum.net. Let’s see how the company behaves in countries where they have a much larger market share.

Image credit: Asiajin

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Videoblogging isn’t just for teenyboppers with Flips. It’s a simple way professional creatives can make use of high traffic sites like YouTube to showcase their work and communicate with their audience in a fun and effective way.

Videos are a great way to offer your audience a window into your world. Artists can create their own YouTube channel and embed videos on their own website or blog. Viewers can see the artist at work, listen to their thoughts, and watch them create, establishing a more tangible experience with the art.

Here are 5 ways artists can use YouTube:

1. Tell a story

Share a story about your work, how you were inspired to create a certain piece, or art in general. This can be one video or many series of videos. Val of Val’s Art Diary does a fantastic job of telling the story of every piece of her work. As she shows clips of the art in progress, she tells a story behind that piece and the particular subject she chose. Her videos are light, sweet, and fun. And you can’t ignore the fact that this beauty is hard not to watch!

2. Make a tutorial video

3. Make videos about YOU

You can create videos that fit in with the feel of your art as well, whether serious, inspirational, whimsical, or just plain weird. Share videos about things you like, things that inspire you, things that drive you mad. It can be as simple as that. Quality vs quantity. Don’t worry about making really long videos.

4. Make your painting videos art

Paul, also known as Cheeky Chen on YouTube, creates visual pieces of himself working on his art. He gets creative with music, visuals, and storytelling to express himself all while creating the painting you see in the video. This can make watching you create the art more entertaining. Val of Val’s Art Diary does much of the same thing, incorporating visuals and storytelling into her videos.

5. Make testimonial videos

Things to remember about making your video

1. You don’t have to be perfect – Videos don’t have to be masterpieces. We all should understand by now that videoblogging is supposed to be more organic than the commercial/professional work out there. And people actually LIKE that. Don’t worry about your editing skills or what programs you are using. The basic essentials on Windows or Mac are just fine (Windows Movie Maker or iMovie) and over time, you will become more familiar with the editing process, which allows for more creative ideas to flow.

2. Keep it simple. Keep it short – Much like a soundbite, you can offer videos in 30 seconds to 3 minutes that offer good, unique content. People like bitesized content. This will be easier for you to create and viewers are more likely to finish watching the video.

3. Not everything works for every artist – Some artists can do storytelling style videos, like Val. Some artists do well with tutorials. Others? They may simply do videos about themselves and refer to their art. You have to determine your audience’s interests as well as what you really are about. What do you like? What can you share with the world about yourself and your work in video format?

More resources for artists from Mashable:

- Tweetable Art: 10 Twitter Tips for Artists

- The Artist’s Guide to Flickr

- Web Design Toolbox: 130+ New Tools to Make You a Better and Faster Designer

- 40+ Places to Sell Your Designs Online

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