Video Blogging
So, I recently - or perhaps not even the recently! - posted here in the journal that My Two Ovens would be coming soon. Well, soon has come and gone, and still we haven't even posted the commercial for it. It is hard to commit to any type of internet video on top of all the other things going on in my life and the lives of everyone else who would need to be involved.
While I agree that the internet has made it easier for people to get their video content seen by people other than themselves, I'm not quite sure how good that content is. Content streamers like YouTube try to make it easier to find the good videos through user ratings and the like, but there are probably still some undiscovered gems hiding amongst a slew of garbage.
I've personally had some idas for online content that I think people would really enjoy. Unfortunately, finding the audience is the hard part. You might have the best idea, but unless people see it, it doesn't matter. The success of Rocketboom is amazing. They have become worldwide internet celebrities and have been invited to speak at internet devlopment forums, conferences and symposiums. The creators of RB were actually just here in San Francisco for Vloggercon - a conference of video bloggers from around the country. Last year's Vloggercon was held in NYC. The fact that this conference has been held in two of the country's biggest cities is, I think, a testament to the success vlogging currently enjoys.
What is the future of vlogging? In my opinion, it will continue to enjoy widespread growth. It will become a new norm for the net. Finding the good stuff wil get easier over time as sites like YouTube help point the curious to the best of the net. The trick must be that these "video blog search engines" have to be operated independently. As soon as they start charging people for listings or accept advertisers, then the best vlogs - produced by real, common folks - will be lost.