Want to have your own TV show? Do you have the need to spread your wisdom to each and every member of the Internet-connected community? Do you just want to stay in touch with friends and family? Now you can. Vlogging, a social, personal/amateur/professional broadcasting opportunity is the latest in online interactive technology with a community. Have a good idea? Put it on the web, talk about yourself and join the revolution.
To get started you must have an idea or, a spark of an idea or, a little bit of curiosity. It doesn't take much. Produce a few minutes of video by using a digital camera or a still camera with 'movie' feature, edit it or don't and post it online and see what happens is more the rule of thumb. Sure, it can be grandiose with corporate advertising, field reporters, proper credits and a script. Your vlog can also be 'home-video' style entertainment of you sitting in your bedroom eating a bowl of cereal. The numbers don't lie- people want to see the intimate details of other people's lives. As we get farther and further removed in our own worlds with little reason to leave the laptop, people are coming forward with their lives published and broadcasted for all the world to see.
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Here are some suggested resources for videophiles who want to start vlogging:
For tools, training and tutorials: Freevlog.org and Node101 are excellent examples. Freevlog/ Blogger is the leading weblog tool on the Internet. Anyone can view your site, whether they are registered or not (unlike MySpace). You are able to completely design your own blog. There are free tutorials and immense amounts of help to assist you in getting started. Freevlog wants you to join the community of vloggers, making it easier for you to get your skills together on the technical side. Recommended: how to hack your own blog and a basic HTML guide.
Blip.tv for free hosting, support, advertising options and promotion. This site features hundreds of channels to give you an example of what is out there in the Vlogosphere.
WordPress - WordPress is a free blog software that has more features than Blogger. It has the ability to label your postings using categories, making it easier for viewers to search around your site. WordPress has the advantage over Blogger if you are more technically oriented. If you know xHTML/CSS/PHP, the software can be customized and encourages creativity. WordPress requires a mySQL database space on a server. Adding links is simpler than on Blogger and published faster.
Feedburner - provides media distribution and gets your media out there in the Vlogosphere to audiences for blogs and RSS feeds. The services Feedburner provides helps bloggers, vloggers and podcasters promote, deliver and profit from the content you upload onto the web.
FireAnt is an application website you can use to list your vlog, attract viewers and subscribe to channels. It unifies content for easy viewing, transforming all formats (Quicktime, Windows Media, Real, Flash, MP3, and more) for hassle-free video watching on your computer.
"Clearly, given easier solutions, consumers will be far more likely to edit their videos," said Sharpe Partners interactive agency's CEO Kathy Sharpe. "And those who edit their video are presumably more likely to share it with others, which will expand this market even further."
