BUCKYVERSE

YouTube Videos Collection - Project Summary

Date: November 8, 2025
Project: Buckyverse.org YouTube Videos Collection

✅ YouTube Videos Collection Expanded Successfully!

Summary of Work Completed:

1. YouTube API Search ✅

2. Data Integration ✅

3. Page Regeneration ✅

Top New Videos Added (by view count):

  1. Buckminster Fuller: The Man Who Saw The Future - Joe Scott (1.1M views, 11:33)
  2. BUCKMINSTER FULLER IN 3 MINUTES - Prosocial Progress Foundation (139K views, 3:31)
  3. Buckminster Fuller - Best Interview (1974) - MitUnsDieZukunft (119K views, 58:11)
  4. Buckminster Fuller on Tensegrity Structures - taijineigong (98K views, 6:38)
  5. Buckminster Fuller on The Geodesic Life - Blank on Blank (79K views, 5:47)
  6. R. Buckminster Fuller "Lifting the Curtain" - stonesfcr (70K views, 29:04)
  7. Buckminster Fuller - Bartlett Lecture (1972) - Biophily2 (3:14:34 lecture)
  8. Synergetics and Quantum Physics - Scientific Genius (45:41)
  9. The Hidden History of the Geodesic Dome - Part 4 - Zip Tie Domes (32:07)

Files Created:

Files Updated:

Backups Created:

Automation Workflow

The workflow is now fully automated. To add new videos:

Step 1: Search YouTube for new videos

export YOUTUBE_API_KEY='AIzaSyAju9TfpHxKmBulXiF93d29lat86M8YaG8'
python3 zotero/search_youtube_videos.py

Step 2: Merge results into Zotero database

ruby zotero/merge_youtube_search_results.rb

Step 3: Regenerate bibliography

ruby zotero/zotero-to-wikijs.rb zotero/Buckyverse.json

Step 4: Extract YouTube videos

ruby zotero/extract_youtube_videos.rb

Step 5: Regenerate videos page

ruby zotero/generate_youtube_page.rb

Or use the all-in-one script:

./zotero/run_youtube_search.sh

API Keys Used

Zotero API

YouTube Data API v3

Statistics

Before This Project:

After This Project:

Video Categories:

Next Steps (Optional):

  1. Run periodic searches - Set up a cron job to search for new videos monthly
  2. Add more categories - Could add categories like "Synergetics", "Tensegrity", "World Game"
  3. Add video playlists - Create curated playlists for different topics
  4. Add search/filter UI - JavaScript to filter videos by category, duration, year
  5. Add video transcripts - For accessibility and searchability
  6. Expand search keywords - Add more specific terms like:
    • "Dymaxion"
    • "World Game"
    • "Spaceship Earth"
    • "Synergetic geometry"
    • "Tensegrity structures"
    • "Geodesic mathematics"
  7. Add video ratings/reviews - Community curation of best videos
  8. Create themed collections - Group videos by topic (architecture, philosophy, mathematics, etc.)

Technical Notes

SSL Certificate Issues

Both Ruby and Python had SSL certificate verification issues with Google APIs. Solution: Disabled SSL verification in Python script using:

ctx = ssl.create_default_context()
ctx.check_hostname = False
ctx.verify_mode = ssl.CERT_NONE

YouTube Video ID Extraction

Videos are identified by extracting the video ID from URLs:

Duplicate Detection

Duplicates are detected by comparing URLs (case-insensitive) before merging new videos.

Category Assignment

Videos are automatically categorized based on title/description patterns using regex matching in extract_youtube_videos.rb.

Project Timeline

  1. Initial Setup - Created YouTube videos page with 16 manually curated videos
  2. Zotero Update - Fetched fresh data from Zotero API (1,131 items)
  3. YouTube Search - Implemented YouTube API search with quality filters
  4. Data Integration - Merged 29 new videos into Zotero database
  5. Page Generation - Automated page generation with 45 videos
  6. Navigation - Added link to videos page from home page

Generated: November 8, 2025
Total Videos: 45
Total Zotero Entries: 1,170