I have seen it...and I am now officially old

Today was a rough one in the videoblogging group.
We talked about how to make money videoblogging.
Yikes.
It's like our Abortion issue.

Yes, videoblogging can be anything.
It's just a video attached to a blog.
So there you go. We can end the conversation there.

But here you still are....
The Brand of videoblogging that I encourage is a Conversation.
You show me something in your world...in your head...and Ill do the same.
We do it through video.
No geographical or cultural barriers come between us.
This is the first time we've been able to do this.

Now if you want to regularly post video that 10,000,000 people will see each day...slap some ads on it...and get paid...great.
Theye'll be a handful of these.
Like "Must-See TV" videoblogs.
The barriers will be raised...we all just watch...like we watch TV now.

The Brand of videoblogging I encourage is made for an audience of 10.
I make my videos for basically 10 people...anyone can watch...but those ten people are the ones I care about.
And now imagine 10,000 videobloggers...each with an audience of 10.
Now this is a real ecology.
It's a thick jungle of our lives and fantasies and ideas IN VIDEO online.
Anyone new is welcome to jump in and respond with their video.
The most amazing videoblog lifeforms will emerge and die away and emerge again.

And yes, videoblogging costs some money....not much.
A computer. a camera. and an internet connection.
(Bandwidth, I believe, is a temporary problem once we figure out Bit Torrent or rely on the Archive.)
But it's like talking on the phone...I pay to talk to you with nothing in between us.
I dont expect to get paid to talk on the phone.
The Conversation...this is the Brand of videoblogging that I encourage and am interested in.

For instance, here is that latest video by Dylan Verdi...who's cool father, Michael, has been walking her through instant fame.
(i just saw her on ABC World News Tonight because of this video.)

Dylan shows off the new record player that she got for Christmas.
She explains how to use it like it's an antique.
She then plays her parent's old records...the Smiths...Sex Pistols...haha I watched her entry and suddenly realized that at 31...haha...i am from another era where the Smiths are like "classic rock".

But look at what she does...she talks into the camera...she shares these moments...she is herself.
Not everyone can pull this off so entertainingly, but it's a simple style.
this is my Brand of Videoblogging.
And hopefully her friends will make videoblogs and they will talk to each other...
You see how this works?
It has nothing to do with what exists now.
There's this a new language fo video forming that doesnt have much to do with business models.

Talking to the camera is the easiest thing.
This is the minimum.
But you can also, record an event.
Interview someone.
Give a tour of your neighborhood.
Edit an incredibly detailed story.
Make a flash animation.
In my Brand of Videoblogging...I learn about you.

There are other ways to do this.
Go ahead by all means.

Comments

[Michael Verdi]

Jay you are amazing! Thanks for inspiring this group.

[Chuck Olsen]

Jay is yoda!

By the way, I find talking to the camera is the hardest part, not the easiest. I find it much easier to record other events from behind the camera. but the difficult things can be the most rewarding.

[drew]

Its kinda like music. Most people like music but most people only like certain kinds of music. I happen to like all kinds of music. I like your style of videoblogging but I like other styles too.

[adam]

Yeah dude.

My audience is somewhere around 10 too.

The crossover between all videobloggers' audiences is where this stuff will start to spread like wildfire, like it already has.

Soon.

[Håkon Styri]

"Give a tour of your neighborhood."

Please, in the context of kids videoblogging I'd say that this is not a good idea. If you're an adult you should think twice about revealing your identity and home address on the Internet. Kids shouldn't consider it an option at all.