Comment (1)By Ahson Rafiq in News on 8th April 2008
thA few days ago john chow talked about videos being the next wave in the blogging world, i strongly disagree here, content was , is and always will be king no matter what new methods might come up. To be perfectly honest i think videos are tacky and horrible for serps, unless you provide a text transcript for the video…much like two versions of the same post one in video and one in text. Although it may seem unlikely but while watching videos to learn something you might look over something crucial or might not understand something properly that can’t be explained any further whereas text is far more easier to edit and update.
Now heres my list of cons in video blogging.
- Less authority, more entertainment.
- More hassle on the author’s end.
- Not being able to make videos unless you’re in top shape
- Losing out on the smaller ratio of readers, the ones on dial up. I used to have dial up and i hate waiting for videos to load for hours..
- Alot of pressure to completely explain a point otherwise lose a whole video
- Minimizing in-context ad sales
- Devaluing serp value
- Low or none seo advantage
- Less links
- Simply more work
The list of pros..
Read more
Comments (7)By Ahson Rafiq in Blogging, Internet Marketing on 14th February 2008
This is a guest post from Shannon Lily from Infected by Bugs an intermet marketing blog.
First off thank you BlueVerse for allowing me to write this guest post! I hope it proves to be useful to your subscribers and they benefit from it!
Today we are going to dive into the world of Video Blogging, we are going to dissect the very fibers of Video Blogging and offer up some great tips to getting started!
I have been asked these questions by fellow Video Bloggers as well as Newbs wanting to start a Video Blog themselves. These tips are just a few of the things that you should consider when thinking about Video Blogging.
The Camera
The first question I am usually asked is what sort of camera I use to record my Video Blogs. I happen to have a $1500.00 HD Sony Camera, this price range is a little high for most bloggers so instead I would recommended starting out with a Pure Digital Flip camera. It’s about 3 times as good as a cell phone or digital camera with a video recording option. The camera is not as important as it used to be as cameras are getting better every day in our digital world but every detail helps! As long as you have a decent one you will be set for Video Blogging!
Lighting
Lighting could possibly be the most important thing when recording your Video Blog. Just like photography the lighting when recording any type of media whether it be still photos or a movie the lighting is key! Sure there are programs out there that allow you to adjust the lighting some but it will never beat actual pre-lit lighting. Because your just starting out with Video Blogging it may be hard to get your hands on high quality light source lamps, so you can just do what I do and get yourself in a place with lots of natural daylight, daylight is the best lighting source you can have, and don’t think the big screen movies don’t use daylight as their main lighting source because they do!
Audio
The audio on your Video Blog can either make or break you. My best tips for your audio are to set the camera in a place where their is not much noise, sitting it where there is a lot of computer hum noise or traffic / w/e else their might be is not your best choice, if you have to turn off your pc while your recording that way you have no hum in the video do it. It’s imperative to get the audio right because unless you’re willing to spend about $100-200.00 on audio editing software the hum will be noticeable in your videos and it doesn’t sound good!
Video Editing
Another great question I have been asked is about Video Editing, what I use and what a newb that has no money can use. If you’re using a windows machine it comes with Windows Movie Maker which is actually a great choice for editing your videos for online use. If you’re using a Mac then Imovie is your best choice! Imovie offers lots of control over your videos and allows you to do so many more things that no other program is capable of! If you can get your hands on a Mac and Imovie to do your editing do it!
Video Blogging Time Frame
When I create video blogs I have no time frame in mind, your mind set should be I will shoot and re-shoot until I get it right, but if you have good editing software you wont have to worry about re-shooting the same scene over and over again, shoot it once and just cut out what is not pro and move on.
Planning a Video Blog
Often when people ask me how I plan out and execute a Video Blog I respond simply stating, planning is the key to a great Video Blog! If you take 10-15 minutes and just make a list even if its hand written of key points that you would like to touch on in your video the end result will be much better. You will be able to stay on focus and get your point across.
Video Blog Length
Although there is no real SET rule that you should follow, I have seen and found myself that video blogs that are in the 2-4 minute range do the best, don’t waste peoples time, give them what they want in a timely manner and you will do well. Why do you think they have those give me my 13 minutes of my life back catastrophes every day on the net?
Well I hope you all have enjoyed my basic video blogging tips and I would love to hear your comments / suggestions to help us all improve our video blogs! Just remember when it comes to Video Blogging having fun is the best part. Don’t get caught up in the thought of making money from it. Do it because you love it not because you need to pay the bills!
Comment below and tell us what you think of my video blogging tips!
