It's Called a Vlog

The word “vlogging” gets thrown around a lot these days. In social media and just on the street, everyone talks about this new way of letting other people see into your life, what you do every day, or captivating trips and experiences that one would like everyone else to get a small taste of. The term vlog is actually not a new term at all, just new to me I guess. The name originally conceived in 2000 by a man named Adam Kontras was “Vog”, a shortened form of video blog, developed when the man was broadcasting his move to Los Angeles, California (Read more about the origin of the word and Adam’s story at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_blog )

In the past few weeks I’ve tried to immerse myself into this world of electronic journalism. While I don’t know much about it and I’ve only just scratched the surface of the world of editing footage that is involved in the process of vlogging, I’ve learned a few things.

·         Vlogging is Engaging

In a world where electronics have been used and abused to the point of complete disregard for social behavior, ignorance of the real world and living in false realities, and physical harm to the human body, vlogging provides a happy medium. While one is still able to post their content on social media, they are forced to engage in an environment that will attract audiences. Video blogging is famous and interesting because it shows a glimpse of another human’s lifestyle. People often live vicariously through what they witness others doing. If anything, a good vlog makes you laugh, gets you motivated, and gets you out of your chair and exploring the world for yourself.

·         Vlogging Makes You Try Harder

Even if it’s for ten minutes out of your day, snap a video. Do something that would be exciting to you and to your viewers. You may look really silly at first, making people stop and laugh at you for driving a bike with no hands and trying to talk into a camera (believe me.. I know.). But it gets you more comfortable. It makes you less focused on what other people think of you and more on what you want for your shot. One thing that I’ve learned is to just shoot. There are a thousand and one corny quotes that I could use about not giving any thought as to what other people think and going for it. Keep shooting. Keep going for that extra shot and don’t stop until you have it. Sometimes it just takes a little nerve.

·         Stay Motivated

It’s really, really difficult to stay motivated and positive when doing any sort of shooting and editing. It’s even more difficult to speak in front of the camera and to set yourself up for embarrassment when you think you sound like an idiot. Believe me, you don’t. Everyone doesn’t like their voice on a camera. Something about it sounds awkward in our ears. But what people don’t realize is that it’s only them, everyone else views it as perfectly normal. One of the first things people do is give up. “If I don’t have a million subscribers, there’s really no point in even trying.” I know this feeling so well. But you know what? You can’t become Casey Neistat overnight. You won’t become famous the first time you hit record. It takes time, effort, and endurance to do just about anything. So remember, the next time you get caught up in what you view as a total disaster or failure, it’s just the beginning of something that is really good, something that has potential.

        To recap:
I’m in the same boat as you. I am just getting started with vlogging and although I find it challenging, it is so interesting and worth giving a shot.
People want to see your real life.
Vlogging is definitely not Hollywood (well… for some people maybe).
Get out there, become comfortable, and remember to just keep shooting.


Check out this guy Marcus Hague, a really cool vlogger filmmaker who happens to be a really good friend of mine.

https://www.youtube.com/user/VERADRON1