Hey Brad, I hear ya. I think your idea of providing transcripts, if it can be easily done, is a great one. I also get that you might not be interested in most of the vlogs that are out there. But what if your friend/mom/kid had a vlog? Would you want to watch that, even if the production values weren't that hot? Also, production values are going to get better with time---they already are. Plus, video is fantastic for showing visual information---how-to-refinish-your-chair tutorials and such. Kids growing up now are going to edit video the way you write a sentence, effortlessly. Editing software is free and many kids already are editing on their own, if they aren't getting taught in school.

Anyway, I read your thoughts with interest. If you are up for sitting through a video on the topic, you can find one at the URL above called "Why Alec Saunders Should Vlog"

I'm a programmer, and the language we use at the moment is going through a big shakeup. So the, ah, "marketers", have decided to tell us about the changes and new features by a series of videos. These are professionally produced, fairly well written and edits. But they suck. I can read the transcript in 0.1 the time, but I could read a white paper distilled from those transcripts in shorter time again and probably retain it better. It's about what is important - I don't need to know that the lead dev is overweight and balding (really? A fat bald geek? whodathunkit), but I'm quite interested in the roadmap. So the picture and video is just so much blah, what's important is where they want to go in the next two years.

For all that I dislike their dross, it's orders of magnitude better than 90% of the vblogs I've seen.

Video is useful for a limited range of situations, mostly of the "here I am somewhere dramatic and I'm going to video it while describing the things that don't video well". even three minutes of "look, I'm a hominid" is too much!

Some other points...

- Many (if not most) people don't like to (or can't) read.
- Videos get less SE traffic, obviously.
- A good writer will edit, drop fluff and deliver only the best stuff.

Brad:

You're making the mistaken assumption that anyone who vlogs is doing it because they want to reach a wide audience.

I agree that 95% of vlogs aren't worth watching, but let's face it, 95% of text blogs aren't worth reading either.

But if someone enjoys the process of producing video, why discourage them from posting it online? Some fraction will turn out to have talent and produce worthwhile material. The rest....nobody's forcing you to watch. No harm, no foul.

Now, if instead of saying "Please don't vlog," you'd said, "Please don't expect a lot of people to watch your vlog," that would be a statement I could agree with.

A very tangential obervation, but if you've ever written in a character-based (ideogram-based) language instead of an alphabet-based language, you know that with ideograms, which require a great deal of education, you can write complex words and sentences quickly (cell phone is four characters in Japanese). It is easier to recognize warning signs with ideograms, but I personally find it easier to read descriptions of things I don't already know in an alphabetical language.

Ideograms are analagous but not congruent to computer resources -- I think that purveyours of information have faced the sort of choice you highlight here since the invention of writing. When writing was for the priestly classes, an exclusive endeavor, ideograms were favored, but with the printing press, the alphabet was superior.

But on the internet? Now it's about the ability of our tools to handle the information. I do know that ideogram-based fonts take up a lot of resources and force printers to have massive amounts of memory.

Games and software are now being designed only for the top end computers, which is disappointing.

Vloggers will need skills, just as ISPs building wireless businesses need to learn new things.

I could see vlogs for: design, architecture, botany, travel, sports . . . any area where the visual is important.

As more people interact with the internet using a portable device, the ability to create visual content that is compelling on a 2" x 2" screen will be useful. . . and might not require expensive tools.

"Please don't vlog" is provocative, and catches the eye, but I think you're making a more subtle, nuanced argument, warning people that vlogging requires a different skill set than blogging. It takes a lot of time to produce a video of, say, four guys dancing on treadmills.

Thank you for saying this. Text is much more consumable than audio, which is much more consumable than video. I would also like to add that using video excludes blind and deaf people from your content. Text can be understood by anyone from Superman to Helen Keller. Video and audio cannot.

I don't care if you don't watch my vlog. I used to blog but i've become a vlogger instead because it brings me more personal satisfaction. Call it ego if you want but vanity can have a very intoxicating effect, and I love it!!! I'm new to the whole vlogging community, but what i've learned so far is that with the right material and the right drive and creativity, a person can get loads traffic. It's fun, plain and simple. I agree with Shivering Timbers. No harm, no foul. So if you're against the idea of vlogging, dont tune in. Vloggers set themselves up for more criticism because your more likely to look like an idiot on a vlog than on a blog. For that we should be applauded for bravery. I believe that Vlogging is the wave of the future with or without voice to text applications. This lot is just an example of resistance to progressive change.