So, I’ve been thinking about vlogging.

Some of you might be thinking that I have a hard enough time keeping this place updated and how could I possibly think going multi-platform with the blog is a good idea? Well, some of you are right, I do have a hard enough time updating the old nerd hut. But I don’t care.

Ze Frank says that people who create and distribute original content on the internet do so because they want to connect with others. “To feel and be felt.” I want to feel that connection too. If done well, vlogging can be much more personal and engaging than blogging is. The good ones (Ze Frank, John and Hank Green, Philip DeFranco) make it look easy. I really want to give it a try.

I have the tools – barriers to entry are really rather low. You need a video camera (xmas gift), some editing software (free, free, free!), and some online hosting (the youtubes). But even though it’s easy to get started – just get in front of the camera and start talking – it’s also easy to ramble on and bore your viewers. It sounds like it’s hard to get and keep and audience.  And, if we’re talking about connecting, that is the point.

So here’s the plan I have rolling around my pea-sized brain:

1. Cut the random clips from the early july road trip together into a recap-themed youtube video. This will help me learn the ins and outs of the editing software as well as what I’ll need on the back end to make a good video. Post it to facebook and see what the reaction is. See what feedback I get.
2. Come up with a framework for how each installment of the vlog will work. Nothing’s worse than a “here’s what I did today” blog/vlog if there’s no point. Figure that out – what’s the point? I have an idea I’m working out in my head – each episode will have me pulling a “random” volume from my admittedly-too-large book collection and relating the book to larger issues: world events, my life/outlook/etc. I might change my mind on that, but it will be good for me and easier on viewers if the vlog has a theme – if it’s going somewhere.
3. Write it out. I don’t know how others do it, but I know I’d be doomed to a sea of “uhh” and “umms” if I try to wing it. Not saying I’ll write an exact script for every episode, but I need to at least bullet point it – know what I want to say in what order I want to say it. Know the intro, the pertinent points to cover, and the conclusion.
4. Film a pilot episode. Not for public consumption, just to get the visual parts right: where each episode will be shot, what lighting I’ll need, lighting, etc. Put it all together and see if I’d want to watch what I just filmed.
5. Get over the fact that I hate my own voice.
6. Begin!

So that’s what’s been on my mind the last few days. I don’t know how fast I’ll be able to move, but I think I’m going to start playing around and eventually give it a shot.