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Feb
27
What is a Vlog Debate Rages On
Filed Under What is a Vlog?
It seems the debate about what a vlog is rages as we speak over at the Yahoo videoblogging group. One interesting vlog made on the subject was by Michael Verdi. It seems to be mostly a response to some ideas put out there by Andreas Haugstrup. Michael seems to be arguing for people to not put vlogs in a box. Let them breathe at this early stage. Andreas seems to be saying that a key element to vlogs is that they take advantage of the blogosphere infrastructure.
See Michaels vlog. (look for “Vlog Anarchy”)
I can see both points of view. As Michael says, I think we shouldn’t try to pigeonhole vlogs too much at this early stage.
But I can also understand Andreas’ desire to get a better handle on what we’re dealing with. Words/definitions can help you do that. Words, by and large, are forms of shorthand. When you can encapsulate an idea or a phenomenon in the form of words, it can help you move through a complex sphere more easily. If we can agree what a thing is, or isn’t, then we know where we stand. Although definitions don’t have to limit us, and shouldn’t, they often do. I think it’s inevitable that people will try to define what a vlog is. For people like Michael, who don’t want that to happen at this stage, perhaps the best solution is to simply ignore all these attempts and push on doing whatever it is they want to do. With each side doing their part, I think healthy balance is created. One day those who reject the definitions may come to them for clarity and inspiration. Likewise, those who want something more tangible right now may one day find themselves throwing their definitions into the woodchipper.
As for my own definition of a vlog, it’s still a work in progress. When I read what I wrote in my first post on the subject, I realize it may sound to some as if I were rejecting the idea that a vlog should be non-fiction in nature. That’s not completely what I meant. I think the element of “log” - as in a record or a report - is an important one. A stand-up comedy routine that has nothing to do with the vlog-maker’s real life, for example, wouldn’t qualify as a vlog in the strictest sense in my book. That, to me, would simply be someone who was putting a comedy routine out on the web in video form. I wouldn’t, for example, consider a book of Mexican jokes a travelogue. I would, on the other hand, consider a humorously written narrative about a trip through Mexico a travelogue. That said, I realize that many may one day consider a video of jokes having nothing to do with the film maker’s real life a vlog simply because it was an amateur production, and it was hitching a ride on the infrastructure of the blogosphere. Although I wouldn’t agree, it won’t be something I’ll lose any sleep over.