Re: Word-a-Day Bonus Round: screencast

[Shaun McCance <shaunm gnome org>]

On Thu, 2008-04-03 at 18:54 +0100, Calum Benson wrote:
> On 3 Apr 2008, at 18:32, Shaun McCance wrote:
> > Since we've got screenshot on the table, what do people
> > think of the word screencast?
> >
> > If it's used, it definitely should be one word, since
> > "cast" is not a word on its own.  (All right, it's a
> > word, but it doesn't mean the right thing.
> 
> >
> > Screencast isn't as well known as screenshot, although
> > it seems to be the most common word among people who
> > know what it is.  We could opt for a verbose phrase
> > such as "video screen capture".
> 
> I think it depends on the context.  "Screencast" strongly suggests (to  
> me) video that has been captured specifically for the purpose of  
> broadcasting, most likely over the internet.  "Video screen  
> capture" (to use that suggestion for the sake of argument), like  
> "screenshot", doesn't suggest any specific purpose.

The word screencast does take half its name from broadcast,
much like its cousins podcast and webcast.  The odd thing
about all these -cast words is that they rarely denote
something that is, in fact, a broadcast.

Broadcasts involve media being played in one place, and
subsequently received by large numbers of viewers.  Hence
the name: the media is being cast out to a broad audience.

These new -cast words generally denote on-demand content,
which is not really a broadcast.  For comparison, a live
feed of a webcam could be construed as a broadcast.  But
a webcam recording that you can download and play at your
convenience is not a broadcast.  Just as TV is a broadcast,
but DVD is not.

Those of us who like to pick words apart (that includes
me, and apparently you Calum) might find this troubling.
But it seems these words have taken on a life of their
own.

In circles of people who know what screencasts are, I
think people are going to say screencast, linguistic
semantics be damned.

My top concern is this: how many people have never
heard the term screencast, and how many of them will
be horribly confused the first time they see it?
I don't know the answer to that.

--
Shaun