Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. That was my advice almost 15 years ago to some one who had embellished their website with gyrating bullet points and flashing graphics making it look like the Las Vegas Strip. Though cool looking and trendy, it made it impossible to absorb the information it contained so it failed at it's primary task.
What does that have to do with video blogs? Well, admittedly, video blogs are cool and trendy. I've been considering incorporating video on my blog and website which is why I'm thinking about such things at all. I just had an epiphany while reading a newsletter from Internet marketing guru, Michael Campbell. He had received so many negative comments from a video FAQ he posted he's had to reconsider video. The problem is viewers have to listen to a stream of linear content to see if there is anything of interest to them whereas a written blog allows a reader to scan an article in much less time. His advice is to focus on a single topic. When you use video keep it short, to the point, and educational. I agree. When I do incorporate video into posts, it will be when it illustrates a point better than the written word. When it doesn't it won't be used. And one more observation: if you're interested in SEO, consider there is no way Google or any other search engine can index the content of the video portion of your blog. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should still applies in our new Web 2.0 world!
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