Oy, this whole conversation is like an exercise in not being able to see the forest for the trees.
I think any difference really comes down to intended audience. Rocketboom is trying to reach a different audience than many other videoblogs. So far it has been successful in this regard. In doing so, Rocketboom has raised the level of attention for all videoblogs and for everyone producing and shaping this medium. It is also seen as a beacon example in the mainstream media... and for good reason. It is frequent and fresh, well written and produced, and cleverly plays off many cliches found in mainstream media. It is familiar, yet something completely new in many respects. Many videoblogs have little care for an audience beyond their friends and family. One great thing about videoblogs is that you don't really have to care about audience in order to be successful -- success is relative to your individual goals. Because the medium is so open and accessible to creators, you have the opportunity to define your own goals instead of having them defined for you by the marketplace or other such gating factors. The funny thing about vidoeblogs is that there's a side effect to producing content in such a public medium -- what is originally intended for a small audience of friends can quickly expand to a larger, more generalized audience... it can even reach into the mainstream media with coverage on TV, Radio, and Newspapers. I believe Ryanne, Verdi, Josh Leo, and others have experienced this, and thus attained a certain amount of "personal celebrity," which is fun and exciting. In some ways it may even drive the desire to create more content because an audience materialized where you didn't expect it to. I think that is very rewarding. Ryanne put it really well once when she said "I made a smoothie and a few hundred people gave a shit." Its all valid, one way or the other, and all exemplary of major shifts occuring due to the democratization of media. Will it be used for more applied goals as Andrew Baron envisions?... yes. Will it be used for less concrete purposes too?... yes indeed, and perhaps more so. Thank goodness that the medium is large enough and open enough to accomodate all. -Josh ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back! http://us.click.yahoo.com/eMf55D/tzNLAA/TtwFAA/lBLqlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/videoblogging/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
