Bookmark Vlog Blog
Feb
29
The Vlog Era Has Arrived
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AOL News Presents⦠Where Are They Now? - video powered by Metacafe
Vlogging has arrived. Of course vlogging has arrived. But it struck me again how much it has arrived when I saw the video ad above from AOL News.
It occured to me that our popular culture reference points for this time in history will be vlogs as much as anything else. Surely they won’t be the types of things that reference other eras — American Bandstand outtakes, Saturday Night Live skits, or clips from MTV’s The Real World.
User-generated video. That’s our time. It is officially the Vlog Era.
Feb
29
Quarterlife’s Creators Says the Show isn’t Big Enough for TV
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According to Quarterlife co-creator Marshall Herskovitz, the online web series about vloggers that recently went mainstream on NBC (with paltry ratings) never was ready for prime time. Says Herskovitz, “It never should have been a network show. It’s too specific. It will probably end up on cable.”
You can read more at the Hollywood Reporter.
You can check out the show itself at the Quarterlife website.
Nov
13
Quarterlife Debuts and Threatens to Run Offline
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Just as the online series Quarterlife (see previous post) finally debuted, there have been scores of rumors that it will run away from its online home to NBC and regular TV.
The online series about 20-somethings and their 20-something angst has been of interest for a few different reasons. One of the biggest is the Hollywood names behind it: Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz (Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, Relativity).
Quarterlife is said to be the most expensive online series produced to date. Its main character, Dylan, is a vlogger that vlogs about her friends. She tells too much, however, and as expected, it creates problems.
From the very beginning, there has always been a strange feel to the comments from the show’s producers. At first they were saying that most online series were, basically, crap. They, as the pros they are, would make something better.
OK. There is probably little to argue about there.
They also always never failed to mention that the deal they made with MySpaceTV was a necessary evil. There was the very distinct impression that because MySpace had the viewers and they had none, they were essentially forced into making nice, but really, well, really, it was kind of disgusting.
As the show debuted recently, however, it became clear that while the quality may be better than other online series’, Quarterlife is little more than a TV show on the web. … Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as they say.
And so putting it all together, you have to wonder why Quarterlife wants to be on the web to begin with.
The most likely answer to that question is: They don’t want to be on the web to begin with. They want to be on TV. And that’s why it’s being reported that they are in talks with NBC.
As reported by the LA Times, the producers recently screened some of the first episodes at the University of Southern California film school.
In response to a question about the series looking like little more than TV on the web, Herskovitz answered, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
And then there was this interesting section in the Times article that nicely encaptulates the old dogs in a new doggie park:
Whether Herskovitz “gets it” about the Internet is hard to say. I asked him what freedoms and limitations he’d noticed working as a filmmaker in this new medium. “It’s not clear to me that it’s a new medium,” he said. “The Internet is a delivery system — it can have anything on it.”
But, but, being “a delivery system that can have anything on it” is precisely what makes the Internet a new medium.
As mentioned in a previous post, the same producers had a very short-lived TV show called 1/4life. That show was cancelled. With no where to turn, it looks like they turned to the web. Reluctantly.
Perhaps NBC is where this show belongs after all.
LINKS:
MySpaceTV with Quarterlife Series (episodes appear a day before the series on the Quarterlife site)
The LA Times article about the show
Nov
9
New Multi-Video Uploader at YouTube Allows for More and Bigger Files
Filed Under Tools for Vloggers, Vloggers & Vlogs | Comments Off
YouTube has just announced a new tool that allows you to upload mulitiple videos all at once. In addition, they have upped the file size limit to 1GB. Previously files had been compressed to a size of 100MB (that’s 1/10 the size of current 1GB limit). The length of each video is capped at 10 minutes.
The new uploader tool is currently only available for Windows users, but a Mac version is on its way.
You will need to first intall the uploader onto your computer. You can do that at the installation page.
Once installed, you can upload multiple videos on the multi-video upload page.
If you have large files, it may take as much as 30 minutes before they are processed and viewable.
Nov
6
Oprah Does YouTube
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It looks like Oprah is doing YouTube. And vice versa.
Oprah’s show today (November 6) is dedicated to everything YouTube. Being Oprah, of course she gets all the biggest names, including the founders of the site, P. Diddy (who found his personal assistant on the site), that “dance guy” (who happens to have the most watched video ever on the site), and Tyson, the skateboarding dog.
Where would YouTube be without skateboarding dogs? (And why does everyone always have to say something like that?)
In addition, it looks like Oprah is now getting into the vlogging game. She has her own channel on YouTube where she will be posting video blogs that she’s made herself. Something tells me those duties will proabably get pawned off to a production assistant in short order, but, well, for a while anyway it looks as if it’ll be Oprah behind the camera.
LINKS:
Oct
29
Quarterlife Preview Available
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It seems progress has been made for the new online series title Quarterlife by Hollywood’s Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz (Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, Relativity). It now has a debut date - November 11 on MySpace and November 12 on Quarterlife.com.
The series details what happens when a 20-something video blogger starts vlogging about her friends.
There is a preview of the show currently available on the Quarterlife.com website.
There is also an interesting article over at News.com about working online and some of the creators’ thoughts about the series and the “deals with the devil” that need to be made in order to make something large like this fly (read: deal with MySpace).
It seems that the Quarterlife website will not only serve as a host for the show, but will also attempt to be a social networking site.
Oct
19
Live Vlogs and A-holes
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Perhaps you’ve heard of justin.tv - the site for live vlogging started by a guy, Justin, who decided to vlog his whole life to the world as it happened.
It became very popular, and then others started to get in on the act. They call their live vlogs “lifecasts.”
Thanks to TechCrunch, one of these sweet little lifecasters is gaining some attention for being, well, not so sweet. As a polite movie cinema manager informs our hero that he won’t be able to video the movie he’s about to go see, he becomes patronizing and nasty, rounding it all off with a nice “fucking bitch.”
Project much?
Advice to live vloggers: if you tend to be a sociopathic a-hole, you might want to rethink vlogging that live to the world.
LINKS:
Oct
17
Facebook Video Hits 1 Million Daily Active Users
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Although Facebook, talk of Facebook, and stories about Facebook have been everywhere lately, something very interesting has also been happening rather quietly at the social networking site. It seems they are becoming quite a large platform for video bloggers who want to share their vlogs.
One of the elements of Facebook that has helped explode their growth since opening their doors to the general public has been third party applications. These applications add functionality and fun.
As it turns out, one of the most popular applications is the Video app. As of this writing, it stands in 5th place on the “most active users” list. Just recently it also passed the 1 million mark for daily active users.
While stories of Facebook as a “Google killer” (like stories of anything these days as a “Google killer”) are overdone and tiresome, the fact that video bloggers are taking to such sites in such large numbers is, indeed, interesting.
It would also seem that the nature of the Facebook Video application is more conducive to “personal” video blogging than a place such as YouTube. (”personal” as in not intended for public consumption so much as a message for friends, family, or a selected group)
The more personal and complete nature of a Facebook profile vs. a YouTube account naturally lends itself to this more personal type of vlogging.
It wouldn’t be hard to imagine a future where vloggers went to a site such as Facebook in order to post personal videos that they only wanted their friends and family to see. They would then go to a place like YouTube to post more “public” vlogs.
LINKS:
Facebook Applications Directory
Oct
10
Director Contest on YouTube with Jason Reitman as Judge
Filed Under Video Sharing Sites, Vloggers & Vlogs | Comments Off
Although this isn’t about vlogging per se, no doubt a lot of video bloggers may be interested in a new “director” contest from YouTube.
Sponsored by HP, Fox Searchlight and YouTube, the main judge is award-winning director Jason Reitman — director of Thank You for Smoking (excellent film, by the way).
A few of the rules follow:
- It should be between 2-7 minutes long.
- Deadline for submissions is November 9.
It also must include the following three elements in it:
-
1. The main character has to be dealing with a situation above their maturity level.
2. It has to have a certain line of dialogue, which is: “I demand an explanation for these shenanigans! What do you have to say?”
3. At one point, one character has to pass a photograph to another character.
The contest is open to people from the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Brazil, France, Italy and Spain.
See Reitman explain the contest below:
LINKS:
YouTube Page Announcing the Contest
YouTube Page for ProjectDirect
Oct
5
Vlogging Tips from A to Z
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A – Advance. Advance your point/story/idea. Move things along. People get bored easily, especially with video.
B - Bold. Be bold. Be different. Stand out. Say something worth listening to or show something worth watching.
C - Cut. Cut a lot. Cut out at least half of what you started with. (You can always put it back in, but you probably won’t.) Move things along - try jump cuts. Also, be creative, but be honest and cut it out if it’s crap. Most of it will be.
D - Dig. Dig into your subject to the interesting part. After that, see letter C - “Cut.”
E - Excellence. Strive for excellence, but don’t let perfection get too much in the way.
F - Fade to black. Use a few, simple production tricks. Not a lot, but a few can help.
G - Gain. Gain a little more knowledge and experience every day. Step-by-step, day-by-day, little-by-little you will become much, much better.
H – Handheld. Get out of your house and take to the streets.
I - Interest. Interest your viewers. “Interest” is an active verb. Draw them in. Spend time thinking about how to do that. Think of your viewers, not just of yourself. What are you giving them?
J - Just vlog it. Make it a habit. You can throw it all away if it’s no good.
K - Kreative. Be kreative. But don’t be too kute. (see “K” for an example of too kute)
L - Light. Make sure your vlog is well-lighted. It really is one of the most important things. Of course breaking this “rule” for an occasional effect can be interesting, but doing it too much is simply annoying.
M – Message. Stay on message. Stay focused. Have one main point. It may take you time to determine what your point is, but once you have, don’t ramble to other things. (See “W” to help with this.)
N - Need. Ask: What does the viewer NEED to see to help him/her understand my point/story better?
O - Open. Be open to what comes along unexpectedly. You can always edit.
P - Prepare. Prepare at least a basic outline of what you want to shoot or say. But stay open to possibilities (see “O”).
Q - Quit. Quit when you have nothing more to contribute to your point. Don’t go on and on simply because you can. In general, the shorter the better.
R – Repeat. Repeat main themes or ideas, but do it in an unobvious way. If you keep things moving along (stylistically and intellectually), but build in discreet repetition, your point will accrue more weight in the unconscious mind of your viewer.
S - Style. Develop your own. Vlog a lot, take chances, and you will. (see “X)
T - Take 3. Do it over if you have to. Vlogs don’t have to be perfect, but they shouldn’t be utter crap either – not if you want others to watch them.
U – Undertake. Undertake a large project. Explore a big theme. Do a series of short vlogs over time on the same topic. You’ll be surprised at the results you get and the things you learn.
V - Vary. Vary your shots, background, etc.
W – Write. Write about your topic. Brainstorm. Jot things down. Write uninterrupted for five straight minutes. Video has certain advantages over text, but text has certain advantages over video too. It will help you better understand what you want to do.
X - Xerox. Copy vloggers you like in order to learn from them. You’ll develop your own style over time. (see “S”)
Y - Yoga. Stretch yourself (umm, not literally). Go out on a limb from time to time. Go beyond your comfort zone just a little. Write down something you wish you could do but could never see yourself doing. Now take one little, tiny step in that direction.
Z - Zoom. Do it sparingly. Start already zoomed in. The details will communicate the essence of the whole if done right.
Oct
3
Monty Python’s John Cleese Now Vlogging
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The Podcast Network has recently announced that it has landed former Monty Python star John Cleese to do a regular video blog. The vlog will be called Headcast.
According to TechCrunch, Cleese has described the show as “somewhat humorous, somewhat more thoughtful.” It’s been reported that there will be both a free version of the vlog and a paid, premium version.
Cleese certainly has lots of fans, but it’s hard to imagine how charging for this type of content will hold out in the end. People do indeed pay for content on the internet, but for the most part it’s not so much for entertainment.
It seems to me that, mostly, internet users will pay for things they feel will make them money or things that will solve a problem. They will also pay for things such as porn, of course. But a vlog from John Cleese?
Well, we’ll see. But as places such as the New York Times have discovered, even big names don’t necessarily bring in the dough on the web.
The Podcast Network is said to be profitable, however, and so maybe they know how to make it work.
The video blog is being produced in the UK by Funk. They also produce Cleese’s audio podcasts.
LINKS:
Sep
24
Amanda Congdon Gets the Axe from ABC
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Video blogger / vlogger Amanda Congdon is getting the axe from ABC.
Or maybe we should say she’s being “let go.”
Or maybe we should say she is giving ABC the axe.
ABC has said the following:
It’s been a great year with Amanda — a great experiment for both of us. We thank her for her many contributions and know that she’s about to embark on new endeavors and expect there will be times in the future that we can again work together.
Sounds like a polite axe job, right?
Congdon, on her own blog, has pointed to a New York Times article which includes the above quotation from ABC, as well as the following: “Ms. Congdon’s one-year contract isn’t being renewed, ABC confirmed today.” Congdon says the Times article is “accurate.”
But she also says the following:
I’ve decided not to continue at ABC once our year together is up (and it ain’t up yet) in favor of a new, innovative project that will take every ounce of my time and energy.
Those crazy internet kids — they’ll say anything with a straight face.
Congdon became famous as the host of Rocketboom, but then became entangled in a dispute with the show’s other creator, Andrew Baron. The result was a messy soap opera that left Congdon out in the cold. Or maybe we could say she decided to leave Rocketboom in the dust.
Hey, this is the internet. We can say anything. (This is what I’ve learned.)
Actually, if memory serves, Congdon claimed to have been fired, and Rocketboom claimed she was leaving “to pursue other ventures” (or whatever it is they always say).
Ironico, no?
After Rocketboom, Congdon eventually ended up landing at ABC, of course. (see mess above) It’s been reported that Rocketboom, meanwhile, is having trouble finding sponsors. They deny this.
LINKS:
The NY Times Article on Congdon
Congdon’s blog post where she speaks in tongues
Sep
10
The Lies Continue - Another YouTube Fraud: Marie Digby
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It seems we have another Lonelygirl15 on our hands — and by that I mean another lying little … ok, let’s call her a “lady.”
She lies; we lie. What’s the big deal, right?
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that 24-year-old Marié Digby, a seemingly unknown who hit it big on YouTube, was actually working with Hollywood Records for the last 18 months to cultivate her “out-of-the-blue, little ol’ me” image on the video sharing site. At every turn, it seems, her “story” has been crafted and twisted and muted to hide that fact from the public.
Some examples:
- Invited to a radio station to do an interview, the DJ pretended that they had discovered her on YouTube. In fact, the interview had been set up through Hollywood Records.
- Her MySpace page showed no sign of any professional involvement until the Wall Street Journal contacted her about it.
- Even now, as the story is slowly beginning to leak out, in public appearances it seems she still pretends as if all her success has come magically out of nowhere — as opposed to strategically out of the corporate offices of a major recording label.
The truth is, though they are complicit in the lies they perpetrate, I don’t really hold these young wannabes in contempt. They’re young; they’re unknown; they want to “make it.” And then suddenly some company comes along and promises them that if only they’ll “play along for a while,” they just might hit it big. Also, of course, there is nothing illegal about it.
The sad part is that like Digby, these young wannabes do indeed have talent. And so when the backlash hits, will it be Hollywood Records who catches the brunt of it?
Of course not.
When I think of Hollywood Records, I think it must be some non-descript building somewhere in L.A. I think they must have a logo of some sort, but I couldn’t tell you what it looks like. Like most who have ever listened to Marié Digby, I don’t know and don’t really care who Hollywood Records is.
When I think of Marié Digby, however, a very specific person comes to mind — Marié Digby. And, unfortunately for Marié Digby, Marié Digby is the only person she will ever be. If Marié Digby becomes tarnished now, Marié Digby may never live it down.
While that might be a slight blow for the likes of Hollywood Records, it would surely be a fatal one the musical career of … (can you guess?) … yes, Ms. Digby.
While what Digby is doing doesn’t seem to go as far as Lonelygirl15, one has to wonder why Hollywood Records felt it necessary to create such a story. Sure, it’s a good story to see a nobody from their bedroom suddenly pop up on YouTube and then a few months later play the late night talk show circuit; but in this day and age, don’t these companies know that sooner or later they’ll be found out?
What’s wrong with simply putting an unknown up on YouTube, letting her do all the “personal and authentic” things that appeal in this vlog age, things like singing unaccompanied in your living room and making video blogs that speak directly to your fans, but then just say that she is also working with a record company?
What would be the big deal? She would still be an unknown, and so the viewers of YouTube would still have the pleasure of “discovering” her. But you wouldn’t have to outright lie to people.
Maybe Hollywood (and by “Hollywood” I mean the mainstream entertainment industry) feels they NEED to lie to people. Maybe they feel they aren’t doing their jobs unless they’re lying to people. I don’t know, but the more I see them involved in the vlog world, the more lies I see.
The web is a great communication device, no doubt. That makes it a great tool for marketing too. And it’s only getting better and better. But it seems that many companies, large and small alike, still don’t get it. The heart and soul of any communication device is always the same: it’s the communication, not the device.
Even though a new device might make easier for you to lie to us, you’ll still be found out in the end if you do. And we’re still going to judge you on that.
And so I’m not sure why I have to keep asking for this, but it seems I do: Please stop lying to us. Please!
Below is Digby singing Umbrella – the song that seemed to catapult her to fame “out of nowhere”:
LINKS:
The Original Wall Street Journal Article - a good read
Sep
4
Thailand Unblocks YouTube after Five-Month Ban
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The Thai government recently announced they were removing the 5-month-old ban they had placed on YouTube after a vlogger had posted a video that was deemed insulting to the King.
According to Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, Thai Minister of Information and Communications Technology, YouTube has now agreed to block videos inside of Thailand that violate Thai law or that could be seen as insulting in the Thai cultural context.
The controversy started when a user known as “Paddidda” posted what she originally claimed was a protest vlog against the King and in favor of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted from his position in a coup a year ago.
Many Thais, including the government, it would seem, saw the vlog not merely as political speech, but a deliberate and personal attack on the King.
Thailand is very sensitive to any material that is seen as offensive to the Royal Family. Movies such as “The King and I” (1956) and its modern day remake, “Anna and the King,” are still banned in the country today.
Other clips followed the original, controversial vlog, and the government began their ban on YouTube on April 4 when the site refused a request to remove the videos.
Some images that seemed especially insulting to many Thais were a portrayal of the king in a clown’s face, and an image of the king with his feet above his head – which is considered an offensive gesture in Thailand.
As Google (YouTube’s owner) had bowed to certain pressures from the Chinese, French, and German governments, and yet didn’t respond in kind to the Thai government’s request, many began a cry of “double-standard.”
In May, Google wrote to the Thai government, saying, in part:
We have the deepest respect for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. We likewise respect Thailand’s law and tradition and hope that we will be able to reach a mutually acceptable resolution to the current controversy.
Another section of the letter reads:
We must strike appropriate balances in order to respect local laws while maximizing access to information in societies around the world.
A video apology was issued by the original vlogger to the Thai people through a third party. The video also includes a detailed explanation of the situation.
You can see it below:
Aug
30
KateModern Lives … Sort Of
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A while ago I published a little rant about KateModern - “the new Lonelygirl15,” as she was dubbed by many. While I did go so far as to pronounce her dead in my headline, I knew it was too early for that, and so the post wasn’t really so much a proclamation as a wish.
Well, it’s more than a month into Kate’s “life” now, and it seems she’s alive and kicking. Sort of.
The KateModern that it seemed we might have gotten - that is the KateModern who indeed did come clean about her corporate backing and fictive existence and yet didn’t really want to make that completely transparent to the average viewer, that KateModern IS dead.
The opening paragraph on the KateModern page at Bebo reads:
Welcome to the show page for KateModern, the worlds first and only interactive serial broadcast on a social network. Produced by the creators of pioneering web drama lonelygirl15 and a team of the U.K.’s hottest writers, directors and producers. Log on here daily to watch the latest episodes!
I have no idea if it was always the producers’ idea to come clean in such a way, but it’s good to see that they have.
As I said before, as long as they make it clear to the average viewer, as long as it’s owning up to its status as an “online soap” or “web series” or whatever you’d like to call it, then I have no problems with it.
Selling to us is fine. Lying to us isn’t.
LINKS:
If you’re interested in reading more about how things are going for Kate in a business sense, you might check out a recent article in the Telegraph The story so far… millions are hooked by online soap.
The KateModern page at Bebo is here.
Aug
26
Student Found Guilty after Publishing Video of Teacher on YouTube
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According to the Reuters news agency, a court in Finland recently ruled against a 15-year-old student after his teacher accused him of libel for posting a video on YouTube of the teacher singing at a school party and labeling it Karaoke of the mental hospital.
The teacher had originally asked for 2,000 euros in damages, but the court ordered the student to pay 800 euros (about $1,085) and a 90 euro fine, saying they did so because the boy was under 18, and he had removed the clip from YouTube within two weeks of being asked by the headmaster of the school.
While the teacher’s reaction may have been overly sensitive — well, ok, ridiculous — this is an interesting case for vloggers. It points to both the power and responsibility they have when they put a video out onto the internet.
Although some “serious vloggers” are well aware of this double-edged sword they hold in their hands, my guess is that many others are not. Many don’t see the videos they produce as, theoretically, being on equal footing with something a major website, TV network, or newspaper would produce and put out on the web.
But publishing on the open internet is publishing in public. It doesn’t matter if your cousin, Bubba, pees in the pool or if Bill Gates pees in the pool, the end result is there’s still pee in the pool. (Not that I’m saying vlogs are akin to pee in a pool — although, certainly with some vlogs, that would qualify as a sympathetic portrayal.)
Although the Reuters report did not go into detail, I would assume the crux of the case rested on the labeling of the video and not the video itself. Though if the video was taken at a school function, and it was considered a private function, that may have been another element. But it appears that it was the “spin” the kid put on the video that was the problem - at least in this particular Finnish court.
In situations such as these, we should remember the sage words of William Vlogspeare: “Libel not; label wisely.”
LINKS:
Aug
20
Racism, Politics, and Controversy in the Vlogging World
Filed Under Video Sharing Sites, Vloggers & Vlogs | Comments Off
Well, it seems there’s a lot of controversy swirling around in the vlog world these days. In one of the more prominent stories, race and politics take center stage.
The controversy centers around a vlog made by Loren Feldman at 1938media. Titled “Where are the Black Tech Bloggers?”, it presents a satirical (and many say racist and offensive) take on what a “Black Scoble” or “Black TechCrunch” would look like.
(Scoble is Robert Scoble, an influential tech blogger. TechCrunch is a blog tracking the happenings of companies in the tech world).
While there may be a lot of people out there making such vlogs, Feldman gained attention because of his association with PodTech - a leading video network of shows covering the technology field.
After Feldman published his “Black Tech Bloggers” vlog, many took offense and there was a big dust-up. In the end, PodTech decided to sever its ties with Feldman. But that end wasn’t the end.
Feldman then decided to host his vlogs with blip.tv. As soon as he did, someone wrote to Blip asking them if they really wanted to be associated with him. Blip replied that they would not “censor” Feldman, that they would stand up for freedom of expression, the constitution and all that.
And then in an odd and, one could only guess, unconscious move, Blip seemed to intimate that maybe their decision wasn’t exactly “pure,” but politically motivated. Completely out of the blue, they give as a line of reasoning for hosting Feldman’s videos that if they didn’t, they might be partly to blame for a Democratic Party election loss in 2008:
Drudge could easily pick this story up, and Loren would be invited to do the rounds on right-wing talk radio, as a hero and martyr to the PC police. The case would be held up as a foreshadowing of the Reign of Terror predicted after a Democrat victory in 2008.
While the above quotation could be parsed and reconstituted into a relatively innocuous stand for free speech, it seems obviously intent on giving no quarter to “right-wing talk radio” or those who would like to see a Democratic defeat in 2008. They have, for whatever reason, chosen to open this political can of worms.
And now that the can of worms is open, it begs a whole host of other questions.
Although Blip seems to be sensitive to criticism often leveled at the Left for being overly PC, they seem not to be so sensitive to the criticism that the Left often manipulates and uses minorities (especially African-Americans) for political gain. Do they not find the Feldman video “Content that is or may be deemed to be grossly offensive to the online community, including but not limited to, blatant expressions of bigotry, prejudice, racism, hatred and profanity“? (The quoted text is from their own terms of service.)
Blip has said that they find the video “distasteful.” Members of the community have obviously found it offensive and racist. But these lines are not cut and dried, of course. What is offensive and racist to some is not to others. When to pull a video and when to let it stay is not always an easy decision. If one person finds it offensive, that obviously doesn’t automatically qualify it for removal. Even if a large segment of your community finds it offensive, that doesn’t necessarily qualify it for removal.
To make such decisions, one needs to rely on a set of pre-defined principles for guidance.
The question then becomes: Exactly what are the principles Blip is relying on?
Blip claims one minute that it is the principle of free speech they are relying on, and yet the very next minute they are lamenting a possible Democratic defeat if the video were axed. This is what gives rise to the question: Does Blip indeed find the video racist, and yet feels it’s necessary to continue hosting it so that “Drudge” and “right-wing talk radio” don’t gain some type of political leverage?
Quite simply put: Is Blip throwing African-Americans under the bus in the name of political partisanship?
And, well, this is the problem with being “political.” If they had said they were acting on, and in fact were acting on the sole principle of allowing for free speech, then all these questions would not have likely come to the fore.
But they couldn’t just say that. They couldn’t just let it go. They had to bring partisan politics into it. That, as it turns out, is actually a good thing.
If partisan politics is what Blip is using as its motivating principle, then it’s better we know that. Whether they really want us to know that or not, it’s better we do — not for them, perhaps, but surely for us. Many will be happy to hear Blip is politically motivated in such a way. Many will not.
When a video community site such as Blip throws partisan politics into the mix, they open themselves up to be questioned at every turn. If they choose not to axe the Feldman video for what some might construe as partisan politics, then when they do actually axe a tasteless or racist or hateful video, why would they not be subjected to the same political suspicions? When a video that truly offends gets posted on their site, and for one reason or another doesn’t get flagged and taken down before a flurry of public controversy erupts, how can they not expect a negative backlash of politically motivated attacks?
So the big question that keeps springing to mind is: Why does Blip feel it needs to be politically partisan at all?
Of course they have every right to be so, but then they get themselves into these quandaries, and instead of being a platform for video communication and open expression, they become just another site that likes to present itself as neutral and apolitical when in fact it isn’t. I would not be surprised in the least if Blip liked to claim itself to be “fair and balanced.” My now jaundiced eye would have no choice but to look on such claims with suspicion.
The back and forth on this controversy is published on the Blip blog, and as some comments have pointed out, Blip may be playing up their role in all this in order to gain media attention. And while they’re getting it here obviously, and the tone of their defense to publish Feldman’s vlog is quite high and mighty, Blip is, ultimately, scarcely even a blip on the world’s cultural radar. So, in terms of any real practical fallout, there may in the end be, well, absolutely none.
The decision on whether to host a vlog like Feldman’s is understandably a difficult one. And the truth is, a good case can be made for either side. If the decision is based on pure, pre-defined principles that seek to achieve a civilized and open community of expression, then many from both sides could probably live with either result. When the decision seems based on partisan politics and an attempt to influence an election (no matter how puny your influence), quite frankly, it’s much harder to swallow.
LINKS:
The original video from Feldman at 1938Media - Where are the Black Tech Bloggers
The blog post at Blip about the controversy.
Other Related Links:
Aug
5
Sexy Tech Babe Launches Daily Vlog
Filed Under Vloggers & Vlogs | Comments Off
While it would be easy to justify today’s headline for its naked, attention-grabbing power, that’s below me.
Ok, that’s a lie.
But I’m completely justified in calling Morgan Webb “sexy” — she was voted that by the readers of FHM in a 2007 survey. In fact, she was voted the 51st sexiest woman alive.
(I haven’t seen the sexiest dead woman list. I suppose there must be one.)
In any case, Morgan Webb’s new tech vlog, titled Webb Alert, will be a quick update on the day’s tech and gaming-related headlines.
Although only started last week, the vlog has already garnered some lucrative attention in the tech world due to her experience, connections, and, of course, her sexy geek status.
Webb is known to the gaming world because of her job as a host of the show X-Play on G4TV. With John Battelle’s Federated Media behind her, it seems she is also pretty well connected in the tech world. That makes sense. She was once a personality on the now defunct TechTV.
Of course there are other impressive things on her resume, but low-brows like myself start to nod off after the “FHM’s 51st sexiest woman” line.
To see more of Webb, you can check out her vlog here.
For the gratuitous sexy picture you’ve been waiting for, it’s below. …
… Animals.
(To the ladies, I apologize. And I’m sure she doesn’t look like this in person. At least not everyday. At least not at 6 a.m.)
For other related links, see:
Aug
3
The Lonelygirl15 Lie Stops Today
Filed Under Money & Marketing, Vloggers & Vlogs | Comments Off
Well, all bad things must come to an end. Is that how the saying goes? And so it is for the first season of Lonelygirl15 today. In a marathon 12 episodes (one each hour for 12 hours) hosted exclusively on MySpaceTV, Lonelygirl will put an end to her first “season.”
That’s the good news. The bad news is the second season starts on Monday. That’s right - Monday. This is the internet, after all. Chop-chop. Wiki-wiki. Quickie-quikie. Turn the channel, please.
The hostility you may have picked up on in our tone is not imagined. The whole lie of Lonelygirl15 was and still is a big turn-off. (More on that from a previous post - KateModern is Dead - Or Let’s Hope So.)
Now that Lonelygirl15 has been outed and so isn’t really “lying” anymore, we think it’s basically fine. Still, the beginning of the whole thing still rubs us the wrong way.
That said, Lonelygirl15 still has a lot of fans. And the venture has vaulted the whole concept of online video storytelling into a different realm. And so for those reasons, if nothing else, Lonelygirl15 is still relevant.
LINKS
If you’re coming late to the whole phenomenon of Lonelygirl15, you can catch up with this entry from Wikipedia.
If you need a recap of Loneygirl15’s season, you can check out the video below from MySpaceTV.
Recap-Lonelygirl15 Season 1Add to My Profile | More Videos
Aug
1
Wine Vlog Host to Appear on Conan
Filed Under Vloggers & Vlogs | Comments Off
There are more and more stories of vloggers going big time every day. Tonight we’ll see another when Gary Vaynerchuk, host of the wine vlog we wrote about before, appears on Late Night With Conan O’Brien tonight. It should be interesting to hear him describe how his vlog has vaulted him to the internet star he is today.