Why V-blogging is not so popular among us?

I had an audio blog a few years back (actually finshed up in 2007) which was a recording of this madcap community radio show that I did with my friend for 8-9 years (the blog covered a smaller period).  I quite enjoyed it - it was days when I wrote posts for my other blog maybe 3-4 times a year (i know sounds like a very productive phase).  But I used to upload my audio files to archive.org and use the link in the blog.   I presume for video blogs the huge file size will an issue.  But there are a whole heap of v-bloggers in business on YouTube, Vimeo and others.  And some of them make mind boggling amount of money http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2613963/Rise-squeaky-clean-video-bloggers-taking-internet-storm-earn-20-000-MONTH-posting-advice-videogames-shopping-online.html 

There are even awards like Shorty Awards that acknowledge video blogging http://shortyawards.com/about 

https://www.youtube.com/user/IISuperwomanII

Hmmm.... only if I knew how to edit video, my works for travel-blogging could be more easily accomplished... or, don't know if it's the green grass on the other side....

Hahaaa shorty-memento looks cool bro.... I love those tokens [greedy grin]

Upload sucks. Indian ISPs are under the impression that people only want download. I don't mind paying, but I have to get what I am paying for. 1:8 download ratio is pretty okay, but 1:16 or 512Kbps (whichever is lower) upload condition is a complete crap. There are some ISPs that have SOHO centric plans. Expensive, but I've decided to apply for it. Only issue- no upload speed mentioned. When I asked- Jho hai woh milega! Upload karke kya fayda? Seriously???

This isn't the only case with DSL connection where companies can afford to give more download than upload, but also in the case of cable, WiMax, etc. 3G/4G yadda yadda yadda. I know some gaming cafes that have really good upload speeds and I don't mind paying, but that doesn't really fix the issue. A 1080p 8-15 mins takes way too much time to upload from my end, its just discouraging. 

My cabe gives same upload speed as download, but its only 512kbps 

Sadly true Roshan... I see no doughnuts too! If one has to keep it competitive at least 720p is a must.... [Sigh]

In my observation in my vicinity, 3G speeds of Vodafone on my mobile exceed those of my BSNL WiFi at home !!! :(

but again, I find voda-3g too expensive for extensive usage [Sigh]............

@arvindji I have seen your videos and they are awesome . Always wondered what type of software you did use ..esp. for the split videos (one half freezed and other moving) you did for a contest.

I do have my own channel in YouTube [ actually started out of curiosity and named it inspiredme1 and now unable to change the name  ]  which has about 30-40 videos and just 8 subscribers with about 12,257 views. 

Well Uma, that video was done entirely on my iPhone. Most of my other videos tend to get shot on Nikon D5100... a rather basic DSLR but one that does its job fine. The audio in both cases is always a worry... so I need to make sure that there are no unnecessary ambient sounds or noises disrupting when I'm doing the narration. But so far as effects are concerned, I have installed a few iOS apps for making videos and keep experimenting with them. They are: iMovie, Diptic Video, 8mm, StackMotion, Hyperlapse, Video in Video, and Stop Motion...

Do let me know if there are any others that are as useful as these.

There are apps on smartphones which are doing their best encourage people to upload short impromptu videos... and this may just bring us out of our reluctance to sit and create longer videos for a proper vlog.

How many of the people expressing their opinion in this thread have their own YouTube channels? Just curious.

i have one... and there are 64 videos there. But just 92 subscribers and barely 33000 views.

I have one, for my blog, but, mostly unused. There are just two videos there, nothing too impressive.

I agree with CK, its mainly due to Internet speed also writing a post is a lot easy compare to editing a basic video..

Video would need a really good computer hardware to edit, it needs faster Internet connection to upload and also for visitor to play properly, you need a good camera or smart phone to capture the video..

Compare to a conventional blog, even a person without mobile, PC or even personal Internet connection can head up to cybercafe or use a public computer in library to create and post !!!

So infrastructure here doesn't support V-Blogging !!!

You missed the 'room lighting' portion which is quite essential for vlogging [grin]

Its not a factor for me since todays cameras are much more friendly to low light..

Yes, when you move up the ladder you may something extra !!

Exactly to move up the ladder you need the quality ! I have seen many food bloggers being v booggers are very famous 

again you missed the necessity for good lighting gears, perhaps being dazzled by the "CMOS sensor" hype [grin]

Now situation is such, you need a proper startup to be able to climb the ladder Hunky sir... food bloggers you see, do you think they rely on low light capturing abilities of their cam? [Hurrr hurrr dabaang dabangg]

We all have the mother of all light, the sun light, so start with that 

I think even our so much hyped CMOS, much more hyped are the BSI-CMOS that have been making way into our smart phones increasingly are not able to cope up with low or even proper artificial lighting conditions.

Like for example, if I share examples of my own photography devices, I used to use a Nokia C6-00, a 5MP camera with auto focus and flash. Currently, I am using a Huawei Ascend P1 with an 8MP primary camera with auto focus and flash. This one has the much hyped BSI-CMOS sensor (BSI=Backside Illuminated Sensor) that theoretically improves the photo quality captured using the sensor in low light. But, I haven't seen any improvement over my old C6-00 with the P1 being equipped with a BSI-CMOS sensor against the theoretically inferior CCD sensor used in the C6. In addition to this, the software calibrating the firing of flash in relation to the opening of the electronic shutter, as I found in almost all the android devices I have checked, is just bad. You can't expect an android devices, like the ones I've seen and tested, to get you proper night-time pictures with flash on, while this was not the case with my C6, and with it, I ended up pretty good photographs (closeups), most often in night conditions.

Hunky, I'm imagining you creating your vlog under the midday sun [biting nails]

Dont image, check it in Reality !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HOIruFMP1o

Ajeet, as I said these are mostly marketing gimmicks... what can you expect from a sensor of 1/6 inch size (probably your Ascend P1 has not larger than this)! They're constantly trying to figure out new ways to make the tiny sensor somehow perform and BSI is one of those means... it's letting the micro sensor take a manageable photo by increasing its effective surface area, i.e. partially making up for its tiny size. As a matter of fact I don't trust anything these camera company claims... first thing I do is, finding out the sensor size and lens used from the spec sheet [Grin]

Hunky, imagination has its charm which is can be a complex carbohydrate for a pure automobile blogger, thankfully which you're not [Grin]

Is it due to lack of budget for videography gears or could it be unmanageable apprehension to face the camera? 

for me, both 1 and 2 but mainly 2. I was thinking of creating video tutorials (withut showing my face) but I don't have money. I am a poor hungry Indian.  (phrase credit: Hunky ) 

I am a poor hungry Indian.  (phrase credit: Hunky ) 

I was thinking of creating video tutorials (withut showing my face) but I don't have money.

• You have NIC.. 100mbps ISP..
• You have a Dell Core i5 (educated guess) laptop..
• You can screencast without showing your face..

So why don't you start few screencast series on Java 

Well, tutorial is something people will watch even if the video quality is 240/360 px, provided you're providing unique/superior things... so where's the hitch?

Adding to the above comments, you can use your laptop's webcam to create proper video tutorials and upload them.

I believe this has more to do with the penetration and affordability of internet in our country. If we start comparing our country with the "developed" ones then we surely do not have a footing anywhere. Popularity of Video Blogging can be attributed to the speeds of internet and the telecom infrastructure of the country.

While text and images are not such data intensive and can be loaded without much fuss in slow connection speeds as well, but unfortunately, this is not the case with videos. The current standards of video technology needs you to upload atleast a 720p (1280x720p) usually called HD, videos. Uploading and downloading such videos consume data over the internet, and we do not have competitive internet tarrifs to make up with the slow connection speeds. Maybe, this is acting as a restricting factor. Like for example, a tech forum, I am a member on, most, if not all, of the most regular members are broadband speeds, lesser than 4 Mbps, most of the times, some being restricted to 2 Mbps and even lower at 512 Kbps.

Second can be the resource intensive video editing processes that might be needed when you're into video blogging. For content like pictures, we know a lot of software, both free and paid (cracked, who uses a software, so much expensive, after paying for it?), and these are not such resource intensive when it comes to system requirements to run these applications. The same isn't true for video editing applications, which are resource hogs, more than just being too complicated and tedious for an average blogger to work on. Even some of the most experienced of film makers with expert camera crew and all the right devices can't get over a perfect footage in a single take, most of the times, so its too much to ask a blogger for it.

So, I believe more than anything else, it's more about the money you'll be spending that restricts video-blogging in India.

Couldn't agree more Ajeet!

Till now, after 20 years I assume, I find internet very expensive throughout India... [Sigh]

Video-editing is really a cumbersome and resource consuming process... you reminded me of the era I used to tear my hair and beards for extracting the video from those mini-DV cassettes of sony handycam... Now a days I don't deal with video files, so no idea how softwares have tuned up presently...

@cyberkid. There are various methods to uploading a video. The video of 12 mins approx that i made  occupied a huge space of +400 mb. But then i resized it to .flv and i could upload the video to youtube easily, the new video size being 72 mb without loss of quality (ps dont use my video as comparison becuase it was too messed up and therefore i had to reencode the video 4 times). Plus there are loads of youtubers who are acting independently and have good followings. For eg superwoman, scherazade schroff..some indian kid who regularly uploads his short films to youtube ( this kid recieved a hand written letter of appreciation from spielberg for his effort), the poimt being bandwidth cannot be a reason to explain low penetration of vloggers in india. As for software, i dont think that is a problem because piracy zindabad, or good freeware options available too. Editing is a resource hog true, but that doesnt actually stop you cuz without resources, it would only mean an editing of 1 hour may take you 3 hours but it wont stop your work

agreed ck

+1 to CK..

Sneh, I understand your positivity towards it but here Ajeet's points are too valid to be nullified... See, you can start vlogging but seeing the 'videsi' saturation in vlogosphere and their HD qualities,if you want to get a lead, or even survive, you ought to have quality gears... If you're Vlogging under Indian vlogger tag then also people will compare you with non-desi vloggers only, i.e. even though there's no saturation of vloggers in Indian blogosphere, unfortunately merely this fact won't give you any advantage [Sigh]

Sneh, agreed to your points. I stated those points, because I've tried doing some stuff with videos, not video blogging, directly, but then even being a sort of techie, with a pretty capable hardware and pretty much conversant with software applications, I faced problems, lots of them.

The biggest problem I faced with that specific assignment was that since I planned to do a time lapse video of a Hibiscus bloom, I needed a platform to keep the camera. A tripod would have been best, but I didn't have one, neither the dedicated camera, so, I chose my laptop to serve as the camera to capture the video, a timelapse one. But then, the options were limited and I ended up with a ~7 minute video, which was shot over a period of around 1+ hour, which in no manner looked like a timelapse video. Thus started the hunt for a video editor that could let me run the video at a faster than normal rate. I hunted and hunted and hunted, but, more because I wasn't afare of the features most of the video editors provided, I failed finding one.

Ultimately, I accomplished the task by playing the video at a faster speed, as far as I recall, @ 20x the normal speed of the original video and recorded it again with a screen video capture software to get the desired result.

So, I can conclude that if you're not inclined to do whatever it takes to accomplish something so tedious as video editing, you won't able to do it, leave alone doing t again and again, as required for video blogging.

In case anyone wants to watch those videos and appreciate my work, you can do so on youtube. Here are the links.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y7jjpGjMko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSD25iTussU

@cyberkid: will have a look at those videos at home. And obviously you will have trouble with creating a video if you take up a assignment that is high on the difficulty scale. Agreed that creating videos is a difficult task because post processing takes up a lot of time as compared to a simple edit on a written blog. But if you arent serious on completing a task, then even completing a blog write up wold be difficult. out of curiosity, why did you make a time lapse video?? was it part of a sponsored assignment???

Nothing sort of sponsored or paid assignment. I did it all for fun. Actually seeing people doing it on a photography thread in another forum, I decided to do it with my phone, but, didn't get an application to do it, so did it with the laptop. 

Other than that, I did some videos for my present blog, but never posted those as they were long about 10+ minute videos, that went above 600MB+ with 1280x720p resolution. Found it a bit difficult to edit and upload those videos even on YT.

Hoping there're few more hundred Megabytes still remaining in my 8 gb quota, will check out your video Ajeet....... [Curious] 

I don't know how exactly it will fulfill your requirements, but the new app Hyperlapse by Instagram does seem to have fast playing features. It isn't exactly timelapse but coupled with something else, Hyperlapse could serve the purpose somehow. [hoping it does]

You can check out my video review of ipega controller. But to be honest, india does not recognize vloggers. They are considered as youtubers and there are various kind of youtubers in india. They even have fests and events to celebrate sich people. So if you wanna create a vlog. You might be a pioneer. Though eventually you have to move with on to youtube. If you want to have a look at some good vloggers. Log on to the escapistmagazine.com

I checked your Vlog on ipega gamepad... a good effort but next time you may improve it by:-

- not keeping a shiny reflective material over your desk (black something in this case)

- request your videographer not to prompt/tease/comment... It makes your vlog look very non-serious!

- make lighting in your room more ambient

- unless you love anonymity of face, it is a good idea to show the face of the vlogger at the introductory part of the video

Hope to see more vlogs from your side......... [Cheers]

@anunoy, congrats. You may have been the only one to see that video in full lols

Hahaaa... more we explore, we actually oblige ourselves... don't we?

more we explore, we actually oblige ourselves

That's a very good line

Hmmm... must be a 'stolen' one too [Wink]

Bloggers prefer words. Actors prefer show-offs. 

No dude... don't be orthodox and stick with the notion 'men dont dance'... concept has changed, even Pappu can dance [Grin]

I think, having a Youtube Channel for yourself is better than v-blogging. May be it is called v-blogging but i donno. The general perception about blogging seems to be text and images. That may be a reason

Yes having an U-tube channel and then embedding u-tube links at relevant parts of your blog... isn't that most effective and video-blogging in true sense? I mean I've seen non-Indian bloggers doing it [Thinking cap still on]

why do we have to have a sperate channel or a separate blog.

if you can manage pages on your blog it is more than enough.

Why dont just have a Video blog page on the blog and manage it with you tube links.