Michael Blowhard writes:

Dear Blowhards --

Dept. of Technology Marches On: Video commenting is now possible on some blogs. (Do a search on "Arrington" to get started, then scroll down further for more.) Video could add a lot to discussion theads, IMHO. Imagine Chris White vs. Shouting Thomas ... Roissy could speak from behind a mask ... Colleen could share some expressive improv ... Dearieme might upload tersely amusing 5 second clips ... Ian could prepare a raw and fermented lunch ... Hey, perhaps some of the ladies might see fit to make their statements by showing off their bellydancing skills. Bellydancing demos are always appreciated in these parts. As commenter Bwana says, "Text is so 2006."

Best,

Michael

Steve Sailer mentioned on his blog that he doesn't like videos as much as text for transferring information because:

1) One can't watch videos as fast as one can read.

2) It's difficult to skim videos, while skimming text is easy.

3) It's easier to find things (via control +f and the human mind) in text.

I agree with him. I'll add that some people's voices really grate on me.

Posted by: Rtother on April 24, 2008 9:02 PM

If I could think while speaking even half as well as I think while writing (not that I'm all that great at thinking while writing) I might enjoy something like that. It'd probably be fun to see such a thing going on. I wonder how different your average commenter is in text vs. video, and even how much of a crossover there is at all. Seems like it's an entirely different skill-set. But maybe that's just me.

Posted by: i, squub on April 24, 2008 9:55 PM

The majority of people who comment and post a lot on the internet are introverts, and they are not good at improvising stuff. Text is great for more reflective people. Even when extraverts freestyle it, to keep up a decent pace most of what they say is horseshit filler, like on a political talk show.

They would be nice for "how to" demos for visual or manipulative things, though.

Posted by: agnostic on April 24, 2008 11:53 PM

That Chris White guy... he's got to be really ugly.

If I'm going to appear on video, I'm going to get together a good costume and makeup.

I like those Red State guys. They do great videos. And, the costume and makeup... wow!

Posted by: Shouting Thomas on April 24, 2008 11:57 PM

Agnostic, good point. I am a big fan of the late Julia Child and one of the interesting things about her original "The French Chef" was that it was "Live to Tape", meaning, that when she made a mistake, she had to simply get on with it.

No re-takes, no editing.

Also, to add to the Sailer list: Googling.

Google can find videos, but with text, you can pin-point the good parts.

Posted by: Ian Lewis on April 25, 2008 9:46 AM

What would be funny is if we could imagine what scene each poster/blogger would set if they video-commented.

Roissy: Lounging in his swingin' bachelor pad with a blonde draped over each arm

Clio: Dressed in Victorian garb w/ Merchant-Ivory-type backdrop

Shouting Thomas: No one notices backdrop as volume is always too loud

Agnostic: Some sort of bunker

Days of Broken Arrows: Ramones hair covers most of face masking shyness

Michael Blowhard: ????

Posted by: Days of Broken Arrows on April 25, 2008 10:56 AM

Michael Blowhard: Speaks with back of head to camera to protect anonymity; unwittingly reveals bad case of dandruff.

Posted by: Michael Blowhard on April 25, 2008 11:15 AM

I'd be looking for some damn fine country backdrops from Robert Townshend, Prairie Mary, Cowtown Pattie and Moira Breen. And I'm enjoying contemplating video comments from, oh, say, Chelsea Girl. I mean, the possibilities are really quite entertaining.

Oh, and I don't think Agnostic would post from a bunker. That would be BIOH.

Posted by: PatrickH on April 25, 2008 1:02 PM

Ick, Michael, what a visual.

Days, you misread my personality. I would be dressed in Grace Kelly-style mid-century modern clothes. Or else like Ali McGraw in her Goodbye Columbus days.

I'm rather eclectic in my tastes. As my blog says.

Posted by: alias clio on April 25, 2008 1:27 PM

This is a new golden age of text, and I like it that way. Let's not screw it up with video.

Posted by: mq on April 25, 2008 2:27 PM

I've actually been thinking of doing the v-blogging thing once I get to Japan. The tech would be better and the bandwidth better. In anycase, I would appear as an intense skinny brown guy in a fedora and rumpled jacket constantly puffing his pipe or cheroot in an apartment cluttered with books and papers.

Vblogging would probably be better for me. I can't really work up the attention span to write blog posts and my speaking style is a bit more memorable than how I write. Or as my friend wrote: "Mercurial madcapped wraith wrapped in smoke with a mind like the Marianas Trench; inky black, deep, and inpenetrable."

Posted by: Spike Gomes on April 25, 2008 4:08 PM

It bugs me that Flickr has gone and allowed video now. Flickr, the new YouTube... (Don't get me wrong, I like a lot of things on YouTube, but are they going to start posting stationary, silent pictures? I didn't think so! YouTube should keep doing what it does, and Flickr should keep doing what it does best.)

Posted by: Will S. on April 25, 2008 10:13 PM

For as much as I love spouting off on anything in front of a mic (or a mic attached to a camera), I'm with Rtother (and, I guess, Steve Sailer) in that I can consume far more information far faster by reading, so I'm kind of ag'in it.

And yeah, it doesn't help that most people aren't especially compelling when you stick a camera in front of them.

Of course, it would be fun to see a snippet of video starring pretty much anyone I know...once.

Posted by: communicatrix on April 27, 2008 1:39 PM






Post a comment

Name:


Email Address:


URL:


Comments:


Remember your info?