Content Matters: John Blossom's Video Blog

Many in the content business read John Blossom’s Content Blogger religiously. The blog includes a daily recap of “must read” articles along with his own highly insightful takes on issues in the content industry.

A few weeks ago, John added a daily vlog to the mix – the ShoreViews Video blog. While video blogging isn’t new, its use has been limited. Video can be a compelling format. In this case, it gives John the opportunity to get his personality into the posts. Those who know John (or who have attended a content industry conference in recent years) know him to be smart and thoughtful with a somewhat wry sense of humor. That personality doesn’t always translate in print, but on the video it comes through.

I had the chance to catch up with John last week to learn more about his experiences with video.

Content Matters: John, you’re the first blogger in the content space to try video blogging. What’s the response been so far?

John Blossom: Pretty good response so far, but it’s not yet clear to me that it’s a traffic builder.

CM: Which is faster for you to create, the video or written content?

JB: Overall, I think that writing is about as fast as video. I can do most of the video in a single take but it takes a few minutes more to do the post-production work.

CM: How do you plan to integrate the video with the traditional text? Are you planning to use audio for short posts, then expand in text?

JB: I did one video where I talk about some of the weblog posts. I think that it works out pretty well that way, but it also works to talk about headlines that I wouldn’t necessarily write about, where some simple show-and-tell just works better.

CM: Any other thoughts for those who might consider video blogging?

JB: It’s a time-eater, but less so as I get the hang of the process. I’m not sure whether I’ll continue to do a daily video. I may switch to a weekly or event-driven format, such as for interviews.

CM: Thanks, John. We’ll be watching the blog to see where you take it next.

My take: I think that vlogs are interesting, but I’m not yet convinced that they’re compelling in the business market. In speaking with clients in the financial markets, they seem to have no appetite for video; it’s quicker to skim or to search text than to watch video, and the open and noisy trading floor environment is not quite a home theater setting. I think that we’ll need to see improved video searching before Wall Street accepts video. However, the corporate market is probably more ready for video today. Meanwhile, entertaining video, such as that of Wallstrip or Rocketboom has already demonstrated the ability to attract an audience. For those who have the time to experiment, I think it's smart to get out ahead of the technology and play with video now.