Vlogs | EDUCAUSE

Created by Mark Morton (University of Waterloo) on October 4, 2005

At a recent Educause workshop in Toronto, I was introduced by Cyprien Lomas to "vlogs" which are the offspring of blogs. (The evolution of that word is interesting: some years ago, the phrase "web log" was clipped to just "blog," and now that word has undergone another generation of clipping and fusing (with the word "video") to result in "vlog.") The vlog that Cyprien used as an example was the daily one at http://www.rocketboom.com. He also referred to the "Numa numa" video that is, if I understood him correctly, the sort of original and accidental inspiration for the subsequent proliferation of vlogs. That "Numa numa" video is available for viewing here: www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/numa.php. I've also just learned that there's a fairly new word to describe a phenomenon that suddenly achieves "cult" status on the web (like "Numa numa" or like the clip of William Hung singing "She Bangs" that circulated the web a year or so ago) -- those sudden "spreadings" of something on the web are called "memes" or "neta." It reminds me, in a way, of a pandemic like the 1916 influenza outbreak: it comes out of nowhere, spreads like wildfire, and then vanishes just as suddenly. Think Kato Kaelin.

Vlogs might have potential as an online learning tool, but at the moment they don't seem (to me) to have achieved the "validity" or impact of blogs. Whereas some bloggers have attained real influence, especially in political contexts, vlogs still seem to be a bit on the fringe. I think what needs to happen is for some "discernment" to occur with regard to what is best conveyed by text, what is best conveyed by audio (as in podcasts), and what is best conveyed by audio/video (as in vlogs). As well, I fear that our we are all such sophisticated viewers of television, that we might find most vlogs to be quite amateurish. In other words, whereas technology has made it fairly easy for anyone to make a vlog using just their laptop and a webcam, it's still very hard (and expensive) to make it look GOOD. Without "high production values" a vlog might come across to a media-savvy student as corny or hackneyed.

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		Vlogs Created by Mark Morton (University of Waterloo) on October 4, 2005 At a recent Educause workshop in Toronto, I was introduced by Cyprien Lomas to "vlogs" which are the offspring of blogs. (The evolution of that word is interesting: some years ago, the phrase "web log" was clipped to just "blog," and now that word has undergone another generation of clipping and fusing (with the word "video") to result in "vlog.") The vlog that Cyprien used as an example was the daily one at http://www.rocketboom.com. He also referred to the "Numa numa" video that is, if I understood him correctly, the sort of original and accidental inspiration for the subsequent proliferation of vlogs. That "Numa numa" video is available for viewing here: www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/numa.php. I've also just learned that there's a fairly new word to describe a phenomenon that suddenly achieves "cult" status on the web (like "Numa numa" or like the clip of William Hung singing "She Bangs" that circulated the web a year or so ago) -- those sudden "spreadings" of something on the web are called "memes" or "neta." It reminds me, in a way, of a pandemic like the 1916 influenza outbreak: it comes out of nowhere, spreads like wildfire, and then vanishes just as suddenly. Think Kato Kaelin. Vlogs might have potential as an online learning tool, but at the moment they don't seem (to me) to have achieved the "validity" or impact of blogs. Whereas some bloggers have attained real influence, especially in political contexts, vlogs still seem to be a bit on the fringe. I think what needs to happen is for some "discernment" to occur with regard to what is best conveyed by text, what is best conveyed by audio (as in podcasts), and what is best conveyed by audio/video (as in vlogs). As well, I fear that our we are all such sophisticated viewers of television, that we might find most vlogs to be quite amateurish. In other words, whereas technology has made it fairly easy for anyone to make a vlog using just their laptop and a webcam, it's still very hard (and expensive) to make it look GOOD. Without "high production values" a vlog might come across to a media-savvy student as corny or hackneyed. educause conference \| EDUCAUSE Conferences \| vlogs Mark's blog Login or register to post comments 3994 reads
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