Pointing The Camera At Yourself.

A friend of mine recently watched one of my vlogs (video blogs), for the very first time.
He told me this via Twitter and whilst he made no comment about the actual content of the video, the one comment he did make was to say that he could never do that himself.

This is a very common reaction when people, especially friends, see one of your vlogs for the first time.
I can understand that.
Pointing a video camera at yourself can seem a little strange, when you think about it.
There is a big difference, in my opinion, between recording yourself on a webcam, in the privacy of your own home and filming yourself out in the open.
We've all grown used to seeing people filming with video cameras in just about every imaginable situation. Maybe even when we haven't thought that the filming was appropriate?

But, how often have you seen somebody pointing that ubiquitous video camera at themselves and talking into it? And if you have, what did you think?

My own reaction and i suspect that of all vloggers, would be to inwardly congratulate that person (after all, i wouldn't want to disturb a fellow vlogger now would i?) and to wonder who they were, what they were recording and for what.
But, i imagine most other peoples reaction would be to look, maybe stare and to think that the person was a little weird. I've seen that reaction myself many times. I've also seen it when somebody has filmed me talking into a camera.

Most of us aren't natural extroverts and those first tentative steps into vlogging can be a little daunting.
I can't pretend to have completely overcome those feelings of self consciousness when i do it now. But, it's amazing how much more confident i am now at pointing the camera at myself, after 4 years of vlogging experience.

In fact, a recent experience proves just that point.
I was in London meeting up with some friends from San Francisco. People who i had met via YouTube and vlogging, as it happens.
At the end of our time together, i decided that i wanted to record a short vlog, talking about the day. Without thinking, i got out my camera and recorded a vlog between myself and one of my friends, in the street. This filming attracted some of the usual strange looks from a nearby construction worker. But, i didn't give it a thought.
Maybe, it's just easier to point that video camera at yourself, when you are not alone?

So, i guess what i'm really trying to say here is that the vlogger is really no different to anyone else. They just tend to use their cameras a bit differently to the rest of the population.
I doubt that many vloggers first pointed their video camera at themselves, outdoors. I suspect that we all first did that in the privacy of our own homes and that makes perfect sense.
I can still recall the first ever vlog that i made at home and how i felt when making it. It was a strange experience. But, once i'd done it, i got the bug and have never looked back.

You may well feel, like my friend did, that you couldn't ever do it yourselves. But, i felt the same myself at one time.

Since getting into vlogging and video making generally, 4 years ago, i have tried to encourage others to follow my path. Most vloggers will tell you that the vlogging experience has changed their life, in some way. I am no exception to that and would encourage everyone to, at least, give it a try. After all, what have you got to lose?

By all means, make those first tentative steps using the webcam on your computer. Many people record all their vlogs this way and why not?

Why not watch some vloggers on YouTube first, to see how others do it?
One thing to be mindful of here though. Don't be put off my the apparent good quality of the vloggers you watch and discover. Many of those vloggers will have been vlogging for years and they will all tell you that they are a lot better now, than when they first started out.
We all have to start somewhere. I still watch my very first vlog and cringe a little. So, you are not alone.

So, are you convinced yet?
If so, get recording and let me know how you get on.
Best of luck.

All of the above doesn't, of course, answer that age old question of why on earth you'd ever want to talk into a video camera in the first place.
What drives the vlogger to vlog?
What do you talk about?

Well, the answer to those questions is material for, potentially, many more blog posts.
Watch this space.

Not The Only Show In Town.

Talking about how we now migrate between different social media/networking sites.

Those older sites are not, now, the only show in town.

Here's a link to Ken's blog post, that i mentioned in this video:
http://socialmediajourneys.blogspot.com/2010/10/using-your-website-as-content-hub.html

12Seconds Completes its Fifteen Minutes

Okay, I'm sure the title of this post is a bit trite, and has probably already been used, but I couldn't resist. For those who missed it, 12seconds.tv is (soon to be was) a micro-vlogging site, headquartered in Santa Cruz, CA, for the past three years or so, that yesterday announced they will be closing shortly.

Micro-vlogging? Let me explain it this way: What Twitter is to Blogger, 12seconds.tv was to YouTube. A video sharing site, but with the length of each video limited to, you got it, twelve seconds.

After a well-publicized launch it looked like 12seconds.tv was off to a good start, but the user-base never grew beyond the over-eager early adopter crowd (such as myself). Meanwhile, one founder was distracted with a new baby, the other founder battled cancer (he's feeling much better now), and the entire worldwide economy crashed.

Technical problems were also an issue, and certainly one of the problems I didn't use the site much after the initial rush. But the twelve second limit itself was an issue as well. Tweeting is easy and does not take much set-up or any time at all to post. Turning on your webcam, or even an iPhone app, getting lighting right, checking for background noise... it all takes a little more effort, including uploading your product only to find that you really needed 13 seconds.

Meanwhile, others have stepped up to fill the "post video to twitter" category without the twelve second limit.

An article today in the Guardian UK asks, "As 12seconds.tv closes, what is the future for video communities?" The article also notes that Seesmic has shifted focus from its original video service as well, but in so doing points out that:

"... community [is] humanised by the format of video which, while it demands more from its contributors, gives back more in the quality of interaction."

I think that quote says it all. The quality of the interaction is what it's all about. Yes, it takes a certain type of person to be willing to turn on your webcam, shine the light in your own face, and talk to strangers. It's certainly not for everyone. But I know I've been rewarded for that effort with high quality friendships.

While I often have trouble convincing my contemporaries of that fact (my collaborators here excepted), I have always had faith that the next generation will understand it innately. The Guardian article quotes Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jason Calacanis as saying very much the same thing:

"The next generation will be able to do it more inherently, they will grow up knowing phones with Facetime and computers with iSight. Where our generation knows how to write a good quip in a comment, the next generation will know how to do that in video."

Today we say goodbye to 12seconds.tv, but not to online video, or using video as the basis for building online community. In fact, that journey has barely yet begun.

Where did they come from?

Anyone who might have stumbled upon this new blog. Would probably be wondering why there are already 23 videos and 3 blog posts here. After all, this Social Media Journeys blog was only created a few days ago.

Well, all will be revealed throughout the blog posts that will follow, now that this new blog is up and running properly.

But, a brief explanation is that, all of the posts, below this one,  have been taken from either my YouTube channel , or from my other blog, Moose Musings.

The reason for this is that i have been talking and making videos about Social Media for around 4 years now. And i felt that those videos and blog posts were as valid here as they were on their original channels. I also felt that they are as valid now as they were when they were made.

They cover the same sort of topics that this blog will, hopefully, be covering. And although some of them are a few years old, they are a part of my own social media journey. Looking back on them shows me how far i have come and how much i've learned along the way.

It is always interesting for me to look back on the videos especially and i hope that it might be interesting and possibly valuable to you as well.

We all have to start somewhere and watching somebody elses first faltering steps, on their own social media journey,  can be a very valuable learning experience.

After all, the longest journey starts with just a single step.

Internet Friendships.

Originally posted on YouTube on 26th January, 2008.
Can Internet friendships ever be real friendships.
This is also the first "beach vlog" included here and does contains some scenes of the sea.

The Global Village.

This video was originally posted on YouTube on 20th September, 2007.
It was inspired by the use of one of my videos, by an English teacher in Bogota, Columbia. Showing how our videos can be seen and affect people around the world.

The Great YouTube Learning Experience.

This video was originally uploaded to YouTube on 21st February, 2007.
It is the 3rd in a series of videos about YouTube and is the follow up to "Are you a secret YouTuber?".

Are You A Secret YouTuber?

This video was originally posted on YouTube on 16th January, 2007.
It was the 2nd in a short series of videos about YouTube and is the follow up to "Are you a YouTube virgin?".

Are You A YouTube Virgin?

This video was originally posted onto YouTube on 11th December, 2006.
The video was posted to try and persuade others to take the plunge and make their own first video for YouTube. It was also the first in a short series of videos i did about my early YouTube experiences.