Observations | The Net Fool

Lots of bloggers have made the move into video as an extension of blogging. As much as I feel strongly for blogging as the continued source of success, it seems that more and more of the big name guys are setting up video podcasts or even live webcam shows to connect with their users in new ways.

Which brings me to my main point here, is video the most logical “next-move” in the blogging world? I think so.

We’ve seen a lot of tech trends as of late. As things have consolidated down, I think that the next natural move in the blogging world is an extension into video. Anyone who is not making that weekly video post, starting up that UStream Live Broadcasting account or recording those viral YouTube videos is missing out, and is likely to get left in the dust as this trend progresses.

I stopped in on a UStream.tv broadcast made by blogger John Cow in his “MooTube” channel. Nothing special… or was it? These things are free to set up, and extremely easy to use. UStream.tv makes it easy for you to connect with your readers on a whole new level. John has clearly picked up on this trend, and him calling my not by username (”thenetfool”), but by my real name (”Jim”), is just one of the many reasons that this social movement is picking up steam. Its easy, and it allows you to connect with people to draw in a better network with ease.

How about video blog posts? These are getting extremely popular as well, and I feel they can be an even bigger culture-phenomenon than live broadcasts! Why? They are easier for everyone. You don’t need to stay on your computer to talk to your viewers, responding to their questions and so forth. Also, as a viewer, you don’t need to stake out the perfect time to catch a live show. Video posts are always available, and because they are easier to use, you can dish out a lot more useful information to hook viewers.

I think the first video post that I saw and thought to myself, “wow, that can be the future right there,” is the weekly video post found on popular ‘make money online’ resource ProBlogger.net. You surf over to his homepage, and starting you in the face is this “weekly video post” section. I check this website once a week just for the purpose of catching the weekly post. Its useful, its easy, and I think that it is becoming the norm.

Podcasts are dead.

There is no way podcasts can continue to function effectively when you have video capabilities with the same amounf of efficiency. I remember the buzz about podcasts back in the day. I think a lot of this was the whole idea that you could listen to stuff on your iPod while your working. Well now that there are video iPods, this trend is over. Who wants to be hearing someones voice without understanding who they are. The bottom line is that you can’t hide in a video post, and people like seeing a blogger’s true colors.

Fearless Forecast: Blogging is indeed moving to video broadcasting, whether this be in the form of YouTube marketing, UStream.tv (or other) live shows or even just periodic video blogging posts. You can see the big names already making adjustments to capitalize on this, and even popular ad networks like Google have begun to set up ways to advertise on videos. When you see such big movements from the head honchos, you know something is up. Audio podcasts are dead, and soon… people are going to want a little more than just text on their RSS readers.

-The Net Fool

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