- With the rise of social media, everyone has a voice. Whether it’s 280 characters screaming into the void (and four followers), or a massive blogpost, there’s a lot of text. But text, and maybe an avatar could be literally anyone. By putting your presence in a video, you’re putting more than just a name and a picture to it. You’re placing yourself in the message. I imagine that the moral panic is that there are people out there who are taking these messages more seriously than those of loved ones, simply due to format and presentation. It’s harder to ignore. It’s easier to digest. It’s accessible anywhere. And sometimes a parent or guardian can’t control your viewing.
- Many years ago, I watched some of the granddaddies of todays vloggers. At one point, Natalie Tran of communitychannel was the highest-earning Australian on YouTube, just doing what basically amounts to standup comedy with a skit-acting element. And at the other end of the spectrum was Phillip DeFranco, of The Philly D Show, in the early stages of his online media empire. And by “early stages”, I mean his YouTube videos had already bought him a house with a pool and a view, but he hadn’t started SourceFed yet.
Nowadays I’m not much of one for vloggers. I guess Dael Kingsmill and Matt Colville count, I watch their channels for advice on improving my Dungeons and Dragons game. Most of my YouTube intake is polished news-style videos, top ten lists and other things produced by studios.
Anyway, to actually answer the question, I guess now I’m more about content than I am about the personality. So long as there is some animation to the presentation, and the host is vaguely likeable, I’ll watch anything if the topic interests me. - At first glance, Dael Kingsmill and Matt Colville have very similar video compositions. Person speaking directly to camera, background full of nerdy signifiers. But on closer inspection, you see a difference. Colville’s background consists primarily of projects he has worked on. He is centered, though not to closely. He is giving a lecture at the computer from his seat in his office. Kingsmill is standing to one side, using rule of thirds, she is standing on a background of board games. Often she will have her notes visible. Kingsmill is sharing with peers, her presentation is much more laid back, though she almost certainly has put more effort into it, since she has a film/media background.
- Planning is what stops a project from blowing way out of scope. It makes sure all expectations are clear and everything is ready. It stops time wastage. You probably shouldn’t lock things in place, as no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. Even the most experienced creator is going to have some unforeseen circumstances, and will need to adapt their existing plans.
- You need to consider if there even is an audience for the video. You need to make your content interesting, and present in a succinct way that isn’t going to lose attention. You need to offer something new in an increasingly flooded marketplace.
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