Is Video The Future Of Blogging?

Posted in: 19 Comments
February 26, 2009

Recently, Steve Rubel over at Micro Persuasion wrote an interesting article on video blogging called "Why Text Remains King of the Web". VideoRubel discusses the merits of using videos but concludes that bloggers should still continue to use text. Text is scannable. Text is needed for search engine optimization (SEO) and to get organic traffic. Text is easier to get away with viewing at work. Text is accessible and can be viewed on mobile devices. Text is easily distributed via RSS and social bookmarking/networking websites.

In addition to those reasons, video is not ideal for blogging because it can alienate your visitors who are on slower internet connection speeds. Depending on the speed of a visitor’s internet connection, and how large the video is, their experience on a video blog can range from a delightfully novel experience to a complete nightmare!

Why Is Video Becoming Popular?

Although there are many reasons NOT to use video, there are indeed some benefits. In a rebuttal to Rubel’s post, Skellie over at Skelliewag.org points out that video enables you to connect with your visitors in a way not possible with text. You can share your face and voice as if you were speaking directly to them. And while using video may mean fewer visitors from search engines, Skellie thinks that potential word-of-mouth or referral traffic for a viral video could be greater than search engine traffic.

Of course, many of us might debate the merits or likelihood of word-of-mouth traffic, but the novel user experience from using video is indeed one huge benefit. What many of us are starting to realize, for example, is that video is extremely useful for conveying certain kinds of information, such as tutorials.

And from the visitor standpoint, video is useful because it enables them to be a passive participant. Instead of using 100% of their energy to focus on your blog and read the words, video enables them to digest the information in an easier way. And it also enables a busy person the opportunity to multitask.

 

So, what do you think? Do you use video on your blog? Will you use it in the future?

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19 Responses to “Is Video The Future Of Blogging?”

  • On February 26th, 2009 at 10:38 pm, Kurt Avish wrote:

    I am not really a fan of video blogging for the reason mentioned above “video is not ideal for blogging because it can alienate your visitors who are on slower internet connection speeds”

    With my 128Kbps I need to download the movie to first view it lol.

    However its true that a video is more interactive. But i think the best is to have a mix of more text then a video with it for better illustrations.

    Kurt Avish’s last blog post..Elaine Davidson The Most Pierced Female Human With Over 6005 Piercings!!

  • On February 27th, 2009 at 11:17 am, stratosg wrote:

    I don’t use video and i don’t think i will. I have no skills in that area whatsover :) But i think you are right. I see it becoming popular by the day…

    stratosg’s last blog post..BloggerBuddy: Update to v0.5.1

  • On February 27th, 2009 at 4:13 pm, Velvet Blues wrote:

    @Kurt: Yes, I guess I can understand why you’d never use video. What some bloggers do is to have two options: the video or a text transcript. That can work well because they appeal to everyone.

    @stratos: I think I might use video for tutorials… Kim W. showed a great use of video in her post on the Jing & the WordPress Easter Egg.

    But for now, I will be sticking with text. I think I am a bit too self-conscious to put my voice or face on the net. ;-)

  • On February 28th, 2009 at 5:05 am, Ben Pei wrote:

    I guess it is! Many people are starting to blog through videos or even giving tutorials through video.

    To me, the only difference is that it is more straightforward and direct as compared to text blogging and the interaction is there.

    Ben Pei’s last blog post..Interview With Garry Conn On Google Talk

  • On February 28th, 2009 at 3:14 pm, Ajith Edassery wrote:

    I doubt if video blogging becomes the future of blogging. I have several reasons to support my argument. Firstly, probably only a very few percentage of all bloggers (with good written language skills) are good at public speaking and/or has a good oral communication skills. Secondly, only a small % of people who are trying video blogging right now are effective while most others sound like fools (I don’t want to quote examples here). Thirdly, videos are great for embedding step by step how to’s and tutorials. But I would not watch a stupid face that gives out lectures alone (with no other visuals to support the cause) because I could read it offline in transcripts. Another reason, I still do not know if I could watch video blogs offline while my RSS reader can support reading offline.

    Blogging is about ‘web loging’ essentially writing that went online. From books to newspapers to magazines to online – writing is still continuing and I doubt if anything like podcasts or videos can stop that soon. If that was the case Newspapers would have been dead long ago when Radio and Television came in :)

    Sorry for the long speech.

    PS: But I still don’t understand why many of those video bloggers don’t publish the complete transcript

    Ajith Edassery’s last blog post..About blog comments

  • On February 28th, 2009 at 3:27 pm, Dennis Edell wrote:

    @Ajith – To respond to the last question, some might look at video as the lazy way out. Even if they put 20 hours into a video, that may be double to triple if they were to write it all out.

    I definitely plan to incorporate video eventually in certain circumstances, but it would never be my sole medium.

    Dennis Edell’s last blog post..February Link Review – Blog Review Winners – TC Contest March – Guest Posts Wanted – I’m Outa Here!

  • On February 28th, 2009 at 4:05 pm, Velvet Blues wrote:

    @Ben: Yes, I agree with your points. Hopefully, video will only be a passing fad, because as I mentioned in my last comment, I doubt that I could really start using it.

    @Ajith: It seems like you’ve watched a lot of BAD video blogs. haha. And you are right, there are several barriers to widespread use. Right now, text is more effective because its easier to distribute. But if video breaks that barrier in some way or another, we might see more and more video blogs.

    And yes, video bloggers should publish the transcript. Then the rest of us who don’t want to view the ‘vlog’ can skim through the text..

    @Dennis: Good luck with your foray into video. As for the transcript, it really would be a lot more work to do both: ie. create the video AND write the post. But if they were to do both, then they’d also potentially be able to take advantage of SEO.

  • On February 28th, 2009 at 8:07 pm, TrainWreckIdeas wrote:

    I am not a fan of video blogs. I prefer to read a blog, unless there is a how-to tutorial where it will be easier to understand through step to step video instructions.

    TrainWreckIdeas’s last blog post..BLOOD, DECAPITATION…IT’S THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI

  • On March 1st, 2009 at 7:51 am, Kim Woodbridge wrote:

    Thanks for mentioning that post :-) I hope I’m not one of the fools Ajith referred to – I think the only negative comment I got was for talking to slow. ;-)

    I like videos for tutorials and they are really helpful for clients – sometimes they don’t understand what you are telling them, you send a video and then they get it. But otherwise I don’t care for them and would prefer to read the article.

    Kim Woodbridge’s last blog post..(Anti) Social-List 3/1/09

  • On March 1st, 2009 at 12:00 pm, Dennis Edell wrote:

    When Collin at feedflare.ca was doing video posts he did both and it was quite pleasing.

    Granted they were tutorial transcripts or anything, but it made the posts more enjoyable.

    Dennis Edell’s last blog post..February Link Review – Blog Review Winners – TC Contest March – Guest Posts Wanted – I’m Outa Here!

  • On March 2nd, 2009 at 12:03 am, Velvet Blues wrote:

    @TrainWreckIdeas: I agree. (Btw, welcome back. I’ve missed you over here. :-) )

    @Kim: Haha. Well, I liked that tutorial. It was the perfect use of video. A written post wouldn’t have done it justice.

    Oh yes, I should probably start using video tutorials with clients. Sometimes I put together a whole packed with written instructions and screenshots… A video would definitely be better, and save me a lot of effort.

    @Dennis: Hmmm. I’m not familiar with that website, but I did just check it out and… um… did you see that video post published on 2/26? Yeh… I think I’ll stick with text blogs. :-) Is it me or is he super expressive? His hands are working overtime!

  • On March 2nd, 2009 at 8:33 am, Dennis Edell wrote:

    LOL he gets a little excited sometimes.

    Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Comment Contest March – Sponsors and Prizes

  • On March 3rd, 2009 at 3:31 am, Ajith Edassery wrote:

    LOL Kim… It wasn’t you. In fact, your voice was crispy clear in that and we all had appreciated it. Also it was a good case where video blogging could actually help.

    :P

    Ajith Edassery’s last blog post..SEO – Link Building Series: Arrest Page Rank leak & Optimize Your WordPress Blog

  • On March 9th, 2009 at 8:13 am, Ben Pei wrote:

    Hey Shirley,

    Where have you gone too? Not updating anymore?

    Ben Pei’s last blog post..19 One Liners To Spice Up Your Work Day

  • On March 9th, 2009 at 12:16 pm, Velvet Blues wrote:

    @Ben: Just you wait… Good stuff is coming soon! :-)
    … I’ll have to check out your one-liners. ;-)

  • On March 18th, 2009 at 3:17 am, Kurt Avish wrote:

    Shirrrrleyyy?????? Shiiirrrleyyy?? OMG. We are sending the helico to look out for you… Not hearing anything on the blog. You stopped to blog? :-(

    Kurt Avish’s last blog post..President of Madagascar Marc Ravalomanana Steps Down

  • On March 20th, 2009 at 5:55 pm, affiliate funnel wrote:

    Great post.

    I believe video is the maximum personal expression of ones self you can have on the internet that’s why it is so powerful.

    It works.

    Rob

  • On May 12th, 2009 at 4:19 am, Harsh Agrawal wrote:

    I recently started creating videos for any software or wordpress plugin I review. This also help users to get a clear view of plugin in action and all the settings.

    Though video can never replace the picture of blogging.

    Harsh Agrawal’s last blog post..Mobilepress wordpress plugin : Optimize your wordpress blog for mobile

  • On November 22nd, 2009 at 7:17 am, Robert Bravery wrote:

    One issue I have with video blogging, well at least Two.
    It requires a lot more effort an hardware. While writing is a lot easier.
    The other problem is that I really do not like the sound of my own voice.

    But I can definitely see the benefits. I’m just thinking of a way to use that on my on blog right now
    Robert Bravery´s last blog ..7 Reasons why you should quit blogging My ComLuv Profile

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