Vlogging News - Mind Blogging
Story courtesy of http://www.dailypress.com/features/lifestyle/cyberlife/dp-50344sy0jan30,1,1645484.story?page=1&cset=true&ctrack=1&coll=dp-features-cyberlife
MIND BLOGGING
By Lisa Deaderick - January 30, 2006
First there were Web logs, now there are video versions. Local bloggers tell us which are particularly entertaining.
When it makes its way to your email, there's a high likelihood that most people in the department have seen it. The guy singing, badly, the lyrics to his own song. Or the friends who got together to spoof some pop group. Or the young woman providing technology tips in three minutes or less. It's the vlog - video Web log.Blogs, Web logs minus the video, have been popular for years.
They're online journals in which people post their thoughts or observations on whatever they feel like. It looks like vlogs are the next wave of online interaction and instead of reading about someone's random thoughts or moments of creative inspiration, you can watch a video clip.Just about anything qualifies. Some are funny and involve singing, lip-syncing and loosely scripted random acts. Others are instructional or educational, showing people how they figured out their new electric grill or telling someone about an easy-to-use software package.
The video side of it is getting to be a big enough deal that Vh1 has partnered with IFILM to air an entire series to silly online video, called "Web Junk 20." Even the masters at MySpace.com have added a new feature this year that lets users upload their own videos.We found a few bloggers on the Peninsula who range from focusing on a specific area of interest to letting the people who care know what's new with them. A couple of them have been quoted in the Daily Press before, commenting on matters of music and popular culture.
We've also included a couple of vlogs from outsiders because they're funny and because we had a hard time finding local vloggers. So, if you know of any, tell us.
Best Tool for the Job by Marcus VorwallerWhere on earth: Newport NewsAnd in cyberspace: marcusvorwaller.com/blogAbout: Computer stuff. It's primarily a guide to finding the best software or offering tips for different online issues. Marcus will tell you how to find a domain name for your Web site, alternatives to the latest hyped-up Web framework or how to record a successful podcast. There are the occasional huffs about poor service on an airline or the new joy he's found in a trip to Burger King through the eyes of his toddler son.
Still, the software stuff comes up a lot, and it's helpful.Comments: Since a lot of his posts are lists, people will add to them. His blog is usually about software, so people may add programs they think are useful. Or if he goes on vacation, readers may tell him whether they've been there and what he should check out.Coming to video? He's not sure about video, but he'll definitely do podcasting, though it may not be on marcusvorwaller.com.
To him, video is too much for one person between the filming, editing and posting.Bookmark factor: Medium. He's pretty helpful, especially if you're somewhere in between a technophobe and technophile.A little about MarcusAge: 28First computer: A Gateway with an Intel Pentium II processor in 1998Time to post: Lately, he posts twice a month. When he started, he had more to write about, but that's changed some.Some favorite blogs: http://www.techcrunch.com/, http://www.lifehacker.com/, http://www.enrichr.com/ and www.digg.com
Rock n Roll in the Real World by Matthew CoxWhere on earth: Newport NewsAnd in cyberspace: http://www.keyofe.blogspot.com/About: Lots of music with some television, movies and funny cartoons tossed in.Comments: People tell him how much they like his posts and music choices. He's even beginning to get a lot of e-mails from people in promotions about music and videos online that they think he should check out.Coming to video? He'd love to, though it may not be steady like Rocketboom or The Richard Show. He just doesn't have the Web space to store video yet.Bookmark factor: Medium to High.
What's nice about Matthew is that his blog isn't just an excuse to see how many acerbic one-liners he can come up with. When he really likes something (NBC's "The Office"), he gushes endearingly. When he really doesn't like something ("The Family Stone"), his disdain is quick and to the point.A little about MatthewAge: 28First computer: Tandy 1000Time to post: Not every day, more like three times a week; posted every day when he has something to say; started out planning to post only once a weekSome favorite blogs: stereogum, pink is the new blog and relativediamond.comHill in a Handbag by Hillary FrankWhere on earth: Newport NewsAnd in cyberspace: http://www.hillary.typepad.com/About: Random things.
Lots of music, some politics and current events. The latest posts have been birthday wishes to celebrities and the occasional person she knows. Some are questions of the day, requests for wardrobe help or mourning the loss of a great musician.Comments: She gets a lot of comments from her friends, just for pointing out something they were interested in. The stuff on her blog is mostly about her day-to-day life. So, if she mentions getting her hair colored, someone may tell her to go for it. Or if she posts a link to an article she found online, people will thank her.Coming to video?
She doesn't think so because she's not really familiar with vlogging. Plus, she can't think of anything she'd want to record.Bookmark factor: Low to medium. Some of the questions of the day are fun, and so are the posts about concerts or the guy who discovered the effects of LSD. Still, it's mostly an update for family and friends about Hillary, which isn't a bad thing. It's actually the point.
A little about HillaryAge: 32First computer: Commodore 64Time to post: Try to post every day, for a really long time never missed a day but during the holidays traveled a lotSome favorite blogs: pattyculliton.blogspot.com, taraschultz.blogspot.com, bluenation.blogs.com and http://www.theadambomb.com/ are a few.A FEW VLOGSVia Antarctica by a group of researchers from the College of William and MaryWhere on earth: Antarctica and WilliamsburgAnd in cyberspace: www.wm.edu/news/index.php?id=5503About: The crossing of the Drake Passage to Anvers Island by scientists, student researchers and Cindy Van Dover, associate professor of biology.
It's a five-week research cruise led by Hugh Ducklow, professor of marine biology at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. They're traveling the peninsula to explore the region's ecological systems.Comments: They don't have that option on the site, but they have recorded more than 600 hits from on and off campus from people visiting the site to watch clips of episodes.Bookmark factor: Medium. It's very educational and the landscape is beautiful, but it'd be nice to see the researchers and scientists, too.King of CamKaraoke, aka Fred MarshallWhere on earth: Indiana, Pa.And in cyberspace: www.camkaraoke.com
About: Singing along with his favorite songs from the 1980s and 1990s in a white T-shirt with a costume accessory here and there, depending on the song. Can he sing? Nah, but that's what makes him hilarious. He really gets into it with the chair dancing and facial expressions. It's almost like catching someone groovin' real hard in their car at a stoplight.Comments: Fred sometimes wonders how many people are actually working while they're in the office because he gets a lot of feedback from people who are at work telling him his videos brightened their day.
Others aren't quite as kind."What's funny to me is what people say about me," he said, laughing. "Like that their ears are bleeding (from the singing) or that it makes their cat scream."Bookmark factor: High. Fred's antics elicit pure laughter.Back Dormitory Boys (known in most Internet searches as the Two Chinese Boys)Where on earth: China, reportedly at an art school in the Guangzhou provinceAnd in cyberspace: twochineseboys.blogspot.com, but the rumor is that someone other than the Back Dorm Boys started this site.
The duo's official site is http://edu.sina.com/.cn/y/focus/housheboy/index.shtml, but you won't understand it unless you're fluent in Chinese.About: Super fun lip syncing of the Backstreet Boys. It's comedy. Their faces twisted in emotion and the friend in the background who ignores him while he's on the computer. Too funny.Comments: People love them, more than the Backstreet Boys.
Some have gone so far as to say that the Back Dorm Boys' renditions of the songs are better than the originals, and the guys aren't even singing.Bookmark factor: High. They really are entertaining and the videos never stop being funny.
-----
Lots more articles and reviews like this are at http://www.ipods-and-onlinevideo-reviews.com.
Chip Tarver
MIND BLOGGING
By Lisa Deaderick - January 30, 2006
First there were Web logs, now there are video versions. Local bloggers tell us which are particularly entertaining.
When it makes its way to your email, there's a high likelihood that most people in the department have seen it. The guy singing, badly, the lyrics to his own song. Or the friends who got together to spoof some pop group. Or the young woman providing technology tips in three minutes or less. It's the vlog - video Web log.Blogs, Web logs minus the video, have been popular for years.
They're online journals in which people post their thoughts or observations on whatever they feel like. It looks like vlogs are the next wave of online interaction and instead of reading about someone's random thoughts or moments of creative inspiration, you can watch a video clip.Just about anything qualifies. Some are funny and involve singing, lip-syncing and loosely scripted random acts. Others are instructional or educational, showing people how they figured out their new electric grill or telling someone about an easy-to-use software package.
The video side of it is getting to be a big enough deal that Vh1 has partnered with IFILM to air an entire series to silly online video, called "Web Junk 20." Even the masters at MySpace.com have added a new feature this year that lets users upload their own videos.We found a few bloggers on the Peninsula who range from focusing on a specific area of interest to letting the people who care know what's new with them. A couple of them have been quoted in the Daily Press before, commenting on matters of music and popular culture.
We've also included a couple of vlogs from outsiders because they're funny and because we had a hard time finding local vloggers. So, if you know of any, tell us.
Best Tool for the Job by Marcus VorwallerWhere on earth: Newport NewsAnd in cyberspace: marcusvorwaller.com/blogAbout: Computer stuff. It's primarily a guide to finding the best software or offering tips for different online issues. Marcus will tell you how to find a domain name for your Web site, alternatives to the latest hyped-up Web framework or how to record a successful podcast. There are the occasional huffs about poor service on an airline or the new joy he's found in a trip to Burger King through the eyes of his toddler son.
Still, the software stuff comes up a lot, and it's helpful.Comments: Since a lot of his posts are lists, people will add to them. His blog is usually about software, so people may add programs they think are useful. Or if he goes on vacation, readers may tell him whether they've been there and what he should check out.Coming to video? He's not sure about video, but he'll definitely do podcasting, though it may not be on marcusvorwaller.com.
To him, video is too much for one person between the filming, editing and posting.Bookmark factor: Medium. He's pretty helpful, especially if you're somewhere in between a technophobe and technophile.A little about MarcusAge: 28First computer: A Gateway with an Intel Pentium II processor in 1998Time to post: Lately, he posts twice a month. When he started, he had more to write about, but that's changed some.Some favorite blogs: http://www.techcrunch.com/, http://www.lifehacker.com/, http://www.enrichr.com/ and www.digg.com
Rock n Roll in the Real World by Matthew CoxWhere on earth: Newport NewsAnd in cyberspace: http://www.keyofe.blogspot.com/About: Lots of music with some television, movies and funny cartoons tossed in.Comments: People tell him how much they like his posts and music choices. He's even beginning to get a lot of e-mails from people in promotions about music and videos online that they think he should check out.Coming to video? He'd love to, though it may not be steady like Rocketboom or The Richard Show. He just doesn't have the Web space to store video yet.Bookmark factor: Medium to High.
What's nice about Matthew is that his blog isn't just an excuse to see how many acerbic one-liners he can come up with. When he really likes something (NBC's "The Office"), he gushes endearingly. When he really doesn't like something ("The Family Stone"), his disdain is quick and to the point.A little about MatthewAge: 28First computer: Tandy 1000Time to post: Not every day, more like three times a week; posted every day when he has something to say; started out planning to post only once a weekSome favorite blogs: stereogum, pink is the new blog and relativediamond.comHill in a Handbag by Hillary FrankWhere on earth: Newport NewsAnd in cyberspace: http://www.hillary.typepad.com/About: Random things.
Lots of music, some politics and current events. The latest posts have been birthday wishes to celebrities and the occasional person she knows. Some are questions of the day, requests for wardrobe help or mourning the loss of a great musician.Comments: She gets a lot of comments from her friends, just for pointing out something they were interested in. The stuff on her blog is mostly about her day-to-day life. So, if she mentions getting her hair colored, someone may tell her to go for it. Or if she posts a link to an article she found online, people will thank her.Coming to video?
She doesn't think so because she's not really familiar with vlogging. Plus, she can't think of anything she'd want to record.Bookmark factor: Low to medium. Some of the questions of the day are fun, and so are the posts about concerts or the guy who discovered the effects of LSD. Still, it's mostly an update for family and friends about Hillary, which isn't a bad thing. It's actually the point.
A little about HillaryAge: 32First computer: Commodore 64Time to post: Try to post every day, for a really long time never missed a day but during the holidays traveled a lotSome favorite blogs: pattyculliton.blogspot.com, taraschultz.blogspot.com, bluenation.blogs.com and http://www.theadambomb.com/ are a few.A FEW VLOGSVia Antarctica by a group of researchers from the College of William and MaryWhere on earth: Antarctica and WilliamsburgAnd in cyberspace: www.wm.edu/news/index.php?id=5503About: The crossing of the Drake Passage to Anvers Island by scientists, student researchers and Cindy Van Dover, associate professor of biology.
It's a five-week research cruise led by Hugh Ducklow, professor of marine biology at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. They're traveling the peninsula to explore the region's ecological systems.Comments: They don't have that option on the site, but they have recorded more than 600 hits from on and off campus from people visiting the site to watch clips of episodes.Bookmark factor: Medium. It's very educational and the landscape is beautiful, but it'd be nice to see the researchers and scientists, too.King of CamKaraoke, aka Fred MarshallWhere on earth: Indiana, Pa.And in cyberspace: www.camkaraoke.com
About: Singing along with his favorite songs from the 1980s and 1990s in a white T-shirt with a costume accessory here and there, depending on the song. Can he sing? Nah, but that's what makes him hilarious. He really gets into it with the chair dancing and facial expressions. It's almost like catching someone groovin' real hard in their car at a stoplight.Comments: Fred sometimes wonders how many people are actually working while they're in the office because he gets a lot of feedback from people who are at work telling him his videos brightened their day.
Others aren't quite as kind."What's funny to me is what people say about me," he said, laughing. "Like that their ears are bleeding (from the singing) or that it makes their cat scream."Bookmark factor: High. Fred's antics elicit pure laughter.Back Dormitory Boys (known in most Internet searches as the Two Chinese Boys)Where on earth: China, reportedly at an art school in the Guangzhou provinceAnd in cyberspace: twochineseboys.blogspot.com, but the rumor is that someone other than the Back Dorm Boys started this site.
The duo's official site is http://edu.sina.com/.cn/y/focus/housheboy/index.shtml, but you won't understand it unless you're fluent in Chinese.About: Super fun lip syncing of the Backstreet Boys. It's comedy. Their faces twisted in emotion and the friend in the background who ignores him while he's on the computer. Too funny.Comments: People love them, more than the Backstreet Boys.
Some have gone so far as to say that the Back Dorm Boys' renditions of the songs are better than the originals, and the guys aren't even singing.Bookmark factor: High. They really are entertaining and the videos never stop being funny.
-----
Lots more articles and reviews like this are at http://www.ipods-and-onlinevideo-reviews.com.
Chip Tarver
posted by Chip Tarver at
9:01 PM
