A New Literacy: Vlogging

Through technological advancements, writing on digital platforms has dove into a world that even some imaginations can’t create. It is amazing what types of content we can now create given such a variety of online tools.

An example of new literacy is digital filmmaking, specifically, vlogging. Vlogging is another word for video blogging which is similar to an online writing blog except it’s in video format. Bloggers add their content to websites such as YouTube or Blip.tv to engage their audience in their video content. This type of content allows for everyday people to share their everyday life routines and experiences with the public.

While vlogging can seem like a hobby, there are many requirements to be able to understand how to properly execute it such as exploring multimodal resources which include both aural and visual to be available in the video. In terms of different types of multimodal content, digital videos, and vlogs can start from simple creations and can go all the way up to almost semi-professional movies.

For some visual films, composing includes a storyboard which is essentially a map that lays out the narrative sequence of images or scenes you want to be included in your story. Not only are storyboards important, but being able to properly plan out what you want to be included in the video on time holds a big impact as well. To execute this efficiently, it is critical that you have an important understanding of the base of visual design.

Today, there are many social media influencers who make a full income from just recording their daily lives. Some of the most popular categories of vlogs include everyday routines, cleaning, DIYs, parenting, relationships, and arts and crafts. With such a wide variety of categories to choose from, the fan base for tuning into strangers’ everyday lives has become enormous.

There are many benefits vlogging has for both content creators themselves and viewers. Since video-based content allows its users to show their lives to the public, it creates a personal connection with the audience, and a stronger emotional connection can be formed. This is due to the fact viewers can actually see their content instead of reading it. Another benefit of video making is the creative side that it offers. Becoming a vlogger allows for different techniques to be performed such as choosing your own style when it comes to editing. Since there are so many different techniques for filming and storytelling as well, there is a wide range of creativity to choose from. Another great aspect of video creation is being able to capture life moments. Essentially, vlogging has become a digital diary. Being able to save videos on a hard drive or disk allows for memories to be able to be stored for a lifetime.

All in all, the forms of content have changed granted the technological advancements we now have today. Vlogging is a different form of content creation as well as a new digital literacy which we can benefit from depending on which angle you’re finding new video categories in.