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Blogging and Vlogging
I remember a long time ago when I first started exploring the internet I had a blog on AOL. I wasn’t really sure what a blog was; but the thought of having a place to write whatever I felt like was amazing to me. I then had a blog on Friendster. This was my first social media experience where people could come and comment on whatever I was writing about. Generally back then each blog post was just a generalization of my day with some occasional poems thrown in. Yes, I used to write poetry on a daily basis and still manage to from time to time. Not all of it was roses are red and violets are blue, so relax. Blogging has been around forever and in a sense so has vlogging. As I am getting back in to doing some new writing and launching my new blog I have really been putting a lot of thought into the differences between the two words, what they mean, and how they each pertain to me personally.
Vlogger, Blogger or both?
That was my biggest question to answer. Not everyone is everything and not everyone is good at everything. My profession for the past 12 years has been as a graphic designer. Many times my family and friends would tell me that I should learn to code and build websites. My thought and response was usually always the same. “My mind doesn’t think like a coder”, is what I would tell them. I always said there are designers and then there are coders and very seldom are those two types the same person. The same can sometimes be said when it comes to vlogging and blogging. There’s no reason why you couldn’t be both if that is what drives you; however it’s important to know the answer to that question I think before you get too far going in one direction or the other. The great thing about doing this type of stuff is that you can always turn your boat around and head in another direction entirely. My friend and owner of this website Craig Chamberlin has demonstrated this many times in the history of his PCM Tech Help Show website, blog, and YouTube channel. He has now ventured out into doing Google+ on air hangouts. That’s an entirely separate topic all together; but the point I’m trying to make here is that it is possible to change your direction if you see that something isn’t working for you.
Find your Niche
As stated above not everyone is good at everything. I realized long ago that writing is in my blood. I love doing it and it comes very natural to me. I haven’t really tried doing the vlog part of but I definitely am open to it in the future. I will always be a writer at heart and at I do believe that blogging isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Sure you can probably generate more traffic to your website or buzz about what you’re doing by putting yourself out there and doing video but if you’re just not that type of person; then that’s okay too.
One of the most important bits of information that I recently received when I was trying to decide how to brand my website or what to name it was also given to me from Craig Chamberlin. The basis of his answer was that we are now in an age where the best marketing tool we have at our disposal is that each of us are one of a kind. Just be you! There isn’t anyone else on this planet that is exactly like you.
Final Thought
No matter what you do or even if you do both you should always stick to what your passions are. I love to write so that’s what I do. I don’t know if I love putting myself on video because I’ve never done it. One of my favorite things about writing is that I don’t believe that it exposes me quite as much as doing a YouTube channel or Vlog would. I’m sure I would get used to it however.
This article really shouldn’t be called “Blogging vs. Vlogging” because it’s more about helping you decide what you want to do online if you are a content creator. Maybe you do want to do both and if that’s the case then more power to you! At the end of the day I think it’s really more about you doing what you love and having a good time doing it right?
