I made different vlogs for different reasons. I think I get the
biggest kick out of doing a vlog that gives someone I like/admire
a "lift" real or imagined in life.
It might promote a small business they are creating or just give them
the thrill of "having a video about them on the Internet".
In the first instance, you have to think that someone selling clothes
from a location like Ithaca, New York (Lesbian Sexy Dress Secrets)
gets nearly 5,000 hits on YouTube, 991 on Veoh & probably the same on
Blip (I just discovered you can't get total number of hits on older
videos at Blip and/or I don't know how)--you're talking about 7,000
views.
Some of those must have been dykes or sho-owners interested in
specialty clothing lines.
Other times, you put up a vlog like 'Cat Rescue' which talks about an
organization which seeks "foster parents" for cats and dogs who can
return them if they don't work out, etc.
That has only gotten a couple hundred hits in total so I didn't save
all those animals I'd hoped to.
Other times, its a real thrill to film a subway musician ("Baby
Monroe") and put him on YouTube & see how appreciative he is about it
weeks later.
Same goes for artists with strange niches ("Beth's Barbie Fashions")
making dresses for both dolls and humans out of plastic shopping
bags. Not wildly popular but she got a real thrill out of it.
I'd say the most important thing about posting video on the Internet
about someone's hobby, art or business is the feeling that you have
this tiny molecue of power and you're giving that person a little
lift. The lift is mostly spiritual & emotional (as opposed to
economic) but You (or I at least) feel really good about doing it.
The second major reason I vlog is to capture & share "other worlds"
many people have never seen.
It might be just a couple gay teenagers dancing at a Jersey City
Street Fair ("Gay Love Dancing" my second most popular vlog with
22,000 YouTube hits for me and 76,000 for the guy who copied it w/o
permission), or a warm and human chat with a troubled transsexual
("Samantha Dreams of a Sex Change"), or an exploration of NYC's
annual Tattoo Convention, or strange street theater at an S&M Street
Fair.
I'm always looking for great new material. I knew nothing about the
world of tattooing and S&M until I stumbled through them with video
camera running.
Sometimes, the greatest material is right under your nose. There's a
big totally blind dog living in my building. Turns out, it is owned
by a wonderful warm & loving woman who cares for a couple mixed-race
foster children. The youngest one uses the blind dog for a "pillow"
when sleeping. The dog never bumps into anything in the apartment,
etc. Now, there is a story to capture!
And, yes, sometimes I vlog for petty self-indulgent reasons. I get
mad at people who turn me away from a free movie screening because
I'm "too old" to be their "target audience"--so I film them at their
worse and show them to the world for the fools that they are.
Numbers matter to me only insofar as they are meaningful. I'm really
let down and depressed when a vlog like "Cat Rescue" bombs. It means
that I failed as 'savior of the cats' :-).
Otherwise, I've put up a few vlogs recently of a dear friend/roommate
(Marsha P. Johnson) that I knew would bomb. However, to her friends
and family, it was thrilling to know some footage of her had made it
onto the Internet.
Then, there are times when you cynically film something just because
you have press credentials for a Halloween Parade ("Kiss on
Kissology") and post it knowing it is going to do well.
However, there is no real joy in that because other fabulous footage
you shot the same night of people wearing lights as clothing items,
colorful marching bands & even a montage "Human Flesh in NYC" (which
you thought would fly) bombs.
I've actually gotten "past" numbers at this point. I have more money
than time left to spend it. I have been and will continue to hire
helpers while I just pursue videotaping for the sheer thrill of it.
It's only what makes you feel good that is worth doing.
Randolfe (Randy) Wicker
--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, "Bill Cammack"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, "R. Kristiansen" <raymondmk@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hey all,
> >
> > Since I started videoblogging, I have had this mantra about
focusing
> on "the
> > audience of ten". To treat the audience of my videoblog as a
circle of
> > friends. Friends I would want to show what's going on in my life
at the
> > point. I have had this mantra because I, for instance, did not
want
> to get
> > lost in some numbers-increasing schemes.
>
>
> I've been thinking a lot about "shows" over the last two weeks.
David
> had some interesting ideas about audiences and subscribers,
especially
> as it pertains to closed environments, that he shared with the
group.
> This post started me thinking about the ends vs. the means a month
> ago. I've just recently "gotten over" blog metrics, and re-reading
> Ray's post, I now understand what he means by "numbers-increasing
> schemes".
>
> I think that whether your blog is personal or a show, it's important
> to know what "the numbers" are doing for you. I mean, YOU...
> personally. If the answer is "nothing", then they're not worth
paying
> attention to.
>
> A friend of mine studies Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Renzo Gracie's
> Academy. Because of that, I've been around Renzo a few times, and I
> put a clip of him on my site the other day. He just had a fight on
> Showtime that ended controversially, when his opponent illegally
kneed
> him in the head while Renzo was "grounded", twice, and was
rightfully
> disqualified, because EVERYBODY knows you can't do what he did.
Since
> that day, I've gotten (relative to my normal stats) A TON of hits,
> specifically from people wanting more information on what happened
in
> the fight. Every time Showtime plays the fight again, there's
another
> surge of people watching the video... which has NOTHING to do with
the
> Showtime fight.
>
> Is that "audience"? No. That's like when it's raining and you see
> the guys selling $3 umbrellas in front of the subway stations. Are
> they good umbrella salesmen? No. They supplied something that was
in
> demand. Ask them to sell umbrellas when it's dry out and see what
> happens... Nothing! :D The numbers are higher than usual, but it's
> completely worthless to me.
>
> I also agree with the "treat your audience like..." idea. It makes
a
> difference whether you're reporting a news story to a general
audience
> or telling the fellas about some chick you met last night. The
> delivery's going to be different. The content's going to be
> different. I think that how you deliver the content is more
important
> than how many people actually _receive_ your communication. The
> people outside the ones that you created the video for are entirely
> collateral... even if they're the overwhelming majority of your
> viewers or subscribers.
>
> I pay more attention to my Democracy numbers than my Google search
> numbers.
>
> > My question to you is: What amount of subscribers do you feel
> "comfortable"
> > with?
> >
> > Of course, if you make a Show (insert sarcastic tone here), you
only
> want
> > more and more subscribers. But if you make a so-called personal
> videoblog,
> > suddenly having 3000 subscribers might be a very scary thing.
>
> Generally, I agree that a show wants more and more subscribers. The
> question becomes "what are you doing to get subscribers vs what are
> you doing because you want to do it?" If those are the same thing,
> then that's great. There's a great potential for divergence between
> what someone did when their show had ZERO commercial viability and
> what they did after there was an opportunity to make money with
their
> show, either through revenue-sharing advertising or direct
> sponsorship. The question is whether the new ends justify the new
means.
>
> For example, there's an ongoing debate about using copyrighted music
> in video blogs. The closer you get to being commercial with your
> show, the more you're worried about the elements you use and the
more
> your personal creativity is stifled. You might be better off with a
> completely non-commercial video blog where you can do anything you
> want with anything you have. This is why a lot of independent films
> have soundtracks that are made up of one guitar or a piano. They
> couldn't afford to buy music, and the composer they COULD afford was
> limited to the instruments he/she can play. That same film could
have
> been a thousand times better with a REAL soundtrack of copyrighted
> music... except they wouldn't have been able to sell the film.
> Unfortunately, the film was made to sell, as opposed to being seen.
> The creative potential was limited because of future considerations.
>
>
> > Me, I know that the amount of people who have technically
subscribed
> to my
> > feed is about 120. I must admit that even that number makes me
feel the
> > goosebumps sometimes. (Ok, I have a history of receiving nasty
emails
> > referring to videos I made as well, so I guess my personal
paranoia is
> > linked to that).
> >
> > Raymond M. Kristiansen,
> > Copenhagen
> > http://www.dltq.org/v3
> > http://www.textrecontext.com
>
>
> That's an interesting aspect... poor feedback from subscribers or
> random passers-by. I met someone this week that is planning an
animal
> rights video blog. She's worried about all kinds of things, from
> production issues to negative feedback to investigation. :D
>
> I suppose it depends on what you make videos about. If it's a
> controversial topic, then you have to realize that you're STARTING
> discussions with your videos, not ENDING them. If you're voicing
> opinions about things, expect people to have differing opinions.
> Also, expect some people to agree with you an applaud what you have
to
> say.
>
> Basically, you can have your 10-person conversation with your video
> camera. When you put it on the net, you and your 10 friends are now
> having that conversation in the train station or the pubic market.
> Anyone that happens by for whatever reason can drop in, make
comments
> and vanish. If you can't handle that, block all comments other than
> people that you personally approve. If you can handle the remarks,
> but don't want them posted, enable "comment moderation" and let the
> comments through that you would like to be on your site. I think
the
> consideration of what your TRUE audience is and who the people are
> that you're trying to communicate to and receive communication from
is
> really important, all the way down to creating the concept and
format
> of your show / video blog.
>
> Bill C.
> http://ReelSolid.TV
>
