Blogging vs. Vlogging

I’ve been on steemit for almost three weeks now. Prior to joining, I had serious thoughts about starting a youtube channel, focusing on health, self-improvement, and other topics that matter to me.

The power of a visual medium is obvious:

Images with sound create a more aesthetically pleasing, more striking experience.
Vlogs, especially on youtube, gets far more viewership than on steemit (or most blogging sites for that matter).
It’s easier for the audience to feel more connected with a creator when they get to see his or her face on a regular basis.
Youtube has an app for every major mobile platform, whereas steemit is yet to have one.

Having said that, there are some drawbacks to vlogs:

Takes more time (can be a lot more if you are a beginner) to shoot/edit/upload a video than it is to write a blog.
Requires some technical knowledge on how to shoot a video using the correct lighting, focus, sound, etc. Whereas everyone in 5th grade and up, armed with a laptop, knows how to fire up a word document.

I chose to blog on steemit because I’ve been a book lover all my life, and enjoy immensely the process of writing. It doesn’t take too much time out of my day. The simple act of putting words down facilitates the process of getting in touch with myself, keeping me more grounded.

The thought of getting paid for blogging is enticing, but you can get that from vlogging as well. So that’s a wash. Beside, just like youtube, you won’t see much remuneration until your audience is of sufficient size. Therefore money cannot, and should not be your main motivation to write on steemit.

In the end, I find vlogging creates an immediate emotional experience, whereas blogging is more subtle, encourages introspection and reflection. Both mediums are very powerful and essential in a creator’s toolbox. Starting with a blog is easier for me at this point. Somewhere down the road, it would be foolish of me to not consider having a visual channel as well, and link the two mediums together.

A grouchytiger media empire. Hey, I like the sound of that!