Why You Should Vlog

Let me just start with the number one reason you should vlog: it’s really fun.  That’s something I learned the very first time I gave it a try.  My exact words: “I think I’m going to be doing this vlogging thing, because–er, at least once in while–because I just tried it and oh my gosh, it’s a blast.”

Talking to a camera is incredibly awkward, but it is also such a rush.  I write quickly, but I still edit heavily as I go.  I try words out, rearrange sentences, delete, cut, copy, and paste.  Vlogging is much more spontaneous.  For an always deliberate person like me, it’s exciting to see what I will come up with on the spot.

A second reason to vlog is that it’s a different medium.  People have told me that I speak the way I write, but I think seeing me speak is different from reading my words.  I say different things, I make strange faces, I emphasize words I’d never put in italics, and I laugh at myself.  There’s this whole element of performance.  You could say the same thing about writing (it too is a performance), but the two are so different.  If you’re looking for a new outlet, vlogging is worth a try.

A third reason to vlog is that it gives people a better sense of who you are.  I know we’re all here to communicate ourselves and connect to other people, and vlogging is quite possibly an even better tool for that than blogging.  When people see you, they get a better sense of who you are.  They feel like they know you.  Blogs are no doubt better for delving deep, but there’s something that cannot be beat about seeing a person–like you would if they were standing in front of you.  If you read my blog and watch my vlogs, I’m going to have a hard time surprising you when we meet in person.  Unless you think I’m short.

I love to vlog for all the reasons above, but I’ve always felt quite aimless at it.  I don’t know what to vlog about or how to integrate it into what I’m doing here.  I tell myself just to focus on writing, but I like the rush of vlogging.  About a week ago I decided it would be cool to vlog every day for a month.  If I don’t do it in August, I won’t have time again until next June (that’s depressing).  I thought, yes! And then, no! And then in a waffling moment, I tweeted about it.  @phampants said he’d been considering doing something like VEDA (which originally meant Vlog Every Day in April, but works for August too) and we decided to go for it.

Here’s the deal: I want to see you vlog, if you don’t already.  Obviously you don’t have to vlog every day in August (though we’d be overjoyed if you joined us), but if you just did it once, that would be awesome.  If you’re not sure what to vlog about, maybe reply to one of my videos or adopt a topic that Pham and I talk about.  If you don’t know how to record or upload a video, it’s really easy and I can help.  Consider your first vlog a favor to me.  I’ll owe you a drink.

If vlogging is not your thing and this post did nothing to convince you otherwise, it would still be really awesome if you could support me through the month of August.  I won’t be posting all the videos here, so the best thing to do is subscribe to my YouTube channel.  I’ll tweet out the links as well.  I plan to keep the videos short, talk for a bit about what’s going on with me, and then talk about some kind of subject. If you want to interact or suggest a topic, that would be double extra awesome.

This is probably not the last time I will try to convince you to vlog, so keep resisting if you must, but I’ll get to you eventually.  I do have a history of winning people over.