Zapruder Swarms

After 9/11, I wrote a short piece on how news outlets had been relying on everyday citizens for footage of the attacks. Since then, the practice has only spread: It's amateurs, not professionals, who are more likely to be taping when an unexpected event occurs, and so it is amateur footage of such events that usually turns up on the news.

Apparently, it isn't just the media that's profiting from the camcorder revolution. The New York Times reports today that NASA has uses for DIY video as well.