Here’s an article about video blogging that I wrote for a magazine in U.P. Diliman, they published it and gave copies to participants of the iBlog: Philippine Blogging Summit 2009. I’m sharing a soft copy version of my article here in my blog and you can see my observation back in 2009 when video blogging revolution started as a hobby and as a career.
The Video Blogging Revolution
Its fun to share our stories and experience with the use of our blogs. We love to write and accompany them with photos and other media materials that will make the story more interesting and entertaining. The use of photos and audio are very helpful in delivering messages and information to everyone, and it gave birth to new blogs called photoblog were content and story is presented by a series of photos and podcast, an audio recording of a discussion or commentary. Blogging has evolved and it branches out of the ordinary plain text blog entry, photo and audio. The new branch of blog has a new addition and it is called video blogging.
By the use of video in our blogs, the delivery of the message and information is easy, as the reader will just click a button and watch it just like an ordinary TV, the difference is that you can watch it online and watch it over again. Video bloggers sometimes create their own production just to make it more entertaining and play around on the video by having their own character or persona. Video blogs is like your ordinary TV show, but the information being created is done by our bloggers.
Because of the mainstream generation of the use of multi media and video gadgets, anyone can be an actor, director, script writer, video editor and even a film maker. I learned years ago that everyone who uses digital video cameras can be a film maker, and this reflects that video bloggers are film makers who produces and make their own shows with different genre and have their own fan base. The popularity of video blogging has increased after the birth of YouTube.com, many video bloggers started there and because of the hosting of the video is free, many took the advantage and developed their own shows by shooting a digicam video, phonecam or a webcam video and upload it in an instant via YouTube. Sharing the online video to the public will give new viewers a taste of edutainment (entertainment and education)
my early video blogging days in 2007
I tried video blogging after discovering YouTube in 2007, I uploaded some videos of myself talking and reviewing some events that I attended, and then I did wacky stuff and comedy, it receives a lot of views at that time and I’m happy that I discovered that many viewers are fond of watching funny videos online, even that it is scripted or being natural. I began changing my video blog nature after posting real life stories and drama, it turns into a reality tv-like show, but after a few episodes I decided to change my genre again because it shows more the personal side and I want to protect the people involved who doesn’t want to be seen on the camera. Later on I found my style and that is video blogging in events, feature cool trends and interview famous people, the video blogging style continues to evolved from personal and into a magazine type for video.
I installed a video editing software and music composing software, I found myself editing my own video and making my own music. It was a one man army production in making a video blog, and because that I want my video blog to be more presentable, I added intro, substitles and end credits. It was totally hard core but it will trick the viewers that they are like watching a tv show. After doing that for years, I decided to take a break for while and began using mobile video blogging, I used a Sony Ericsson W760i cell phone, I now use it in shooting videos and then upload it in my blog while on the go, it changed my video blogging style for a short period of time, but I am going back again for a 3rd season of my video blog show with a different type of presentation for my topics and features.
When video blogging became popular, many video hosting sites came out and offered the free service to host your video and build your own community there. There are video sites such as Revver.com, Dailymotion, Veoh.com, Metacafe.com, and many more, and then social networking sites was followed to include a video section and free uploading and hosting of videos in their sites. The video blogging culture rises and everyone now can express their own personal thoughts and comments by video.Thanks to the video sharing sites, the access of online video blogs opened up a lot of channel and opportunities to everyone, and later on a big part of the new media.
Famous video blogs and bloggers are known as internet celebrities, they are well known for popularizing their show in the internet, and one of them is Gerry Alanguilan (www.youtube.com/komikero)who posted a series of video blogs of comedy and news about his work on komiks, and there’s also Christine Gambito aka HappySlip (www.happyslip.com)a Fil-am nurse living in the US who got popular in comedy acting and now as the ambassador for Philippine tourism by our Dept. of Tourism, Coy Caballes (www.thisiscoy.net) an award winning video blogger, Gorgoro Henson (www.gorgoro.multiply.com), a rocker musician in using video blog to get connection with his father (and the real deal is that Gorgoro is a puppet), and www.Flippish.com, an online magazine type show. There are many Filipino video bloggers, and you can start searching them on YouTube.
my 2013 video blog
another video blog from 2013
My videos are in YouTube also, were you can dig some of my video blogs and features by visiting www.youtube.com/popazrael, but since I’m doing some mobile blogging and other video blog features out of YouTube, you can visit my blog at www.azraelcoladilla.com to check out some of the video blogs I created.
Being a video blogger is easy, it all takes to have courage and shameless spirit to show yourself on cam and do all the talking in front of it. Its hard to do it if you are a first timer, but when you receive lots of good comments and viewership, you will be addicted to do more and soon enjoy making lots of videos. You can create your own version of a talk show, or a news show, a drama show, or even a cooking show. The topics and interest for a content and information for videos is endless, many are still experimenting and finding more cool topics to be fused in video blogs. Some hard core video bloggers are doing what we call “life cast”, it’s a 24 hour video blog and it never stops, its like a reality show of a person with camera around them streaming 24/7 online, its about the life of a life cast blogger in their own normal lives.
In the Philippines, a big number of popular Pinoy video blogs had influenced a lot of viewers already, some video blogs created just for fun, others are for public service, while others are for their hobby, some video blogs became as the blogger’s career, they earned money from it or being discovered as an actor or a singer, and some video blogs are for personal or for the family, while others are for infotainment.
Video blogging has given us a chance to become one of those guys on TV, being a newscaster, field reporter, an actor, singer, documentarist, a comedian and a the same time, being a cameraman. The effects of it exposes ourselves to discover our hidden talents and trained our self to be more professional in delivering messages tru videos. Video blogging is like 4 years old already, and the future of video blogging will evolve more. Live video streaming is another example on how video blogs evolved, watching your video blog live online, with direct interaction with the audience by online chat. It is already happening since last year and its more fun than TV, to watch and interact with the video blogger in real time.
Video blogging is here as it will continue to grow and stay as part of the new media.
Follow me in my YouTube channel
old channel: www.youtube.com/popazrael
new channel: www.youtube.com/azraelcoladilla
