The Vlogger Interviews: Margaret Fabrizio [ATree3]

Here's a very special Vlogger Interview with Margaret Fabrizio, ATree3 on YouTube.  Margaret is a livelong creative artist.  As her website notes, she began her study of piano six weeks before her third birthday.  She's been a pianist, harpsichordist - and for 25 years was on the faculty of Stanford University.   She's a writer, visual artist, filmmaker - and an active and prolific Vlogger.

Margaret's creative and dynamic use of the vlogging canvas sets the bar high for all of us. In fact, she might very well represent the elusive soul of Vlogging...

Enjoy the interview!

The Blogger Interviews: Steve Miller [QiRanger]

I think you'll enjoy this week's Vlogger Interview, featuring Steve Miller, known on YouTube as QiRanger.

Steve has a voice that comes out loud and clear not just through his YouTube channel, but across his social media landscape:  his blog, his podcast - even his Tweets.  He's not trying to sell anything, or build celebrity.  He's sharing an adventure.  As an American teaching English in South Korea, he takes viewers on a voyage through a country it's history, and it's culture.

"Predominantly I focus on travel, not only here in Korea, but also around the world. Most of my content is related to traveling abroad outside the United States, and in addition to that, I work here in Korea as an English intructor, so I do have some content related to life in Korea and live as an English instructor here in Korea, but I also write about cultural issues, historical issues, I have a podcast, and I just try to share a wealth of information that I think people would find interesting who have not been to Asia and specifically to Korea."

Steve is more proof that the best content is created through passion.   Subscribers, and a YouTube partnership are only part of the equation.  The quality and consistency of his content caught the attention of the South Korean government.

"I have an incredible amount of fun - it's something I enjoy doing.  It is a job. I do get money from being a YouTube partner, but I also write articles for the Korean government to help them with their tourism.  I also appear once or twice a month on a local English-language radio station here to talk about travel as well. So, there is certainly a business side to it, but for me, it's about fun."

Social media creators are like conductors, I think, leading an orchestra made up of a universe of social media platforms.  If they can reach the sometimes elusive goal of creating content across that platforms that work together - than they can, in effect, create beautiful social media music.  Defining just what that is might be is wildly different  from person to person, I think Steve's approach is a good example of how to do it right - and, as the saying goes - do what you love, and the rest will follow.

The Vlogger Interviews: Peter Ilagan [JourneysOfLifeVlogs]

This episode of my webseries, "TheVlogger Interviews" features Peter Illagan, known on YouTube at JourneysOfLifeVlogs.

Just who are Vloggers, anyway?  Yes, the obvious answer is that they're "video bloggers," but that's too simple an answer, I think.  They're not filmmakers, as we've come to understand the craft (and anyway, that's a dated term).  YouTubers are often called "content creators," but that's a term that seems awfully bland for what the site has come to represent.

Peter Ilagan, of the YouTube channel, Journeysoflifevlogs, has found expression for himself as an artist in a several different forms - as a sketch artist, as a painter - and as a writer.  In fact, he began his YouTube experience after publishing his book of short stories, Journeys of Life.  He saw social media at first as a way to promote his book, but rapidly discovered that he liked creating videos and posting them online.

"I've come to realize that I like the aspect of making videos for YouTube social media because it gives me a chance to be more creative, obviously, and just express my thoughts in a way I never could have imagined.  I mean, I'm a little more funny in the videos that I expected to be I guess, and I just like the fact that I can put it together in like a two or three minute video and just put it out there for people to see and just really enjoy and hopefully entertain them."

Some might call that a thirst for immediate gratification, but if you're an artist - you know that there's huge satisfaction in knowing that you're actually reaching and touching your audience.  I asked Peter if he's a writer who vlogs, or a vlogger who writes.  His answer, I think, sums up the multi-dimesional canvas that, thanks to technology, is at our fingertips - and makes defining social media-centered artists so hard to define.

"I don't look at myself as a writer who vlogs, or a vlogger who writes.  I look at myself more as a vlogger who creates, using whatever means I feel is the best way to express my creativity."

Take a look at Peter's interview here or on my YouTube channel, and then check out Peter's main channel.

And if you really want the full "Journeys of Life" experience, here's a secret:  make sure you follow him on Twitter - he's got a wickedly dry sense of humor.   And I don't use the word "wickedly" too often...

The Vlogger Interviews: Will Massenburg [CreativeSoulTV]

Viginia-based Will Massenburg, known on YouTube as CreativeSoulTV is today's Vlogger Interview - my blog and webseries looking at the world of vlogging, from the vloggers themselves.

Will Massenburg is, indeed, a creative soul.   His Twitter account describes him as "Director/Cartoonist/Geek/Flawed Genius/Blogger/Tech Enthusiast/Apple Fan/Video Maker/Podcaster/Movie Lover."  By day, he's a professional graphic artist - by his own description, he's naturally quiet and reserved. It's almost like Clark Kent and Superman - Superman being his YouTube personality. Superman was on full display during my recent Vlogger Interview, as Will greeted me in a full Halloween disguise. 

On his YouTube channel, Will is UNreserved, outward, funny, irreverent - and sometimes downright wacky - he's clearly having a great time.

"Vlogging waas something that I got into that sort of opened me up, and exposed me to the world, I guess - and here I am!"

The Vlogger Interviews: Ken Goldstein [Kenrg]

"The Vlogger Interviews" is an ongoing series of vlogs and blogs exploring the definition of vlogging – from the vlogger's perspective, If you like this interview, I would appreciate your subscription to http://youtube.com/worldaccordingtorich on YouTube.  

2006 is only five years ago, but in the world of YouTube, it's practically an eternity.

"It was a magical era," says Ken Goldstein, known as KENRG on YouTube and across the social media landscape - he's one of YouTube's early vloggers.   He was already a long-time blogger when he first came across the site - in fact, he was looking for video footage to supplement a blog post, and then discovered that YouTube offered the video equivelent of what he was already doing.  He discovered Renetto, one of YouTube's earliest "stars," a spritied, outspoken raconteur, among other things, "and I thought, well, if he can do this, just sitting in front of a camera and talking to a camera and sharing it, I can certainly give that a try." 

The idea of a social network was still new, then.  MySpace was primarily for kids, Facebook was in it's earliest stages, and Twitter didn't even exist.  In you wanted to interact socially online, YouTube was the best place to be. 

"I think one of the most brilliant things that YouTube did in the early days that helped the community and the art of vlogging...was the video response...not just that you could comment, but I could comment on your comment."  Through their videos, directly attached as comments to another's vlogger's video, a video conversation followed,  "That's really where it stated, and that's the magic of where it started in 2006, when there was a limited universe of us vlogging back and forth with each other."

The Vlogger Interviews: Andy Gunton

"The Vlogger Interviews" is a series of vlogs and blogs exploring the definition of vlogging – from the vlogger's perspective, If you like this interview, I would appreciate your subscription to http://youtube.com/worldaccordingtorich on YouTube.  Contact me if you'd like to be considered for the next interview!

As AndyMooseman on YouTube, Hastings, U.K. resident Andy Gunton has been vlogging since 2006.  He’s seen the online community grow from what was essentially a small village into online metropolis it is today.   Though YouTube is only about six years old, Andy things of his own videos as “old-fashioned vlogs.”

“I tend to do unedited videos. Sometimes it’s a stream of consciousness thing.  It’s usually based around some sort of topic…. things I see in the news, or whatever, just something that springs out of something that might have happened to you, that type of thing, maybe trying to get people to thing about things a little bit.”

In the past, he’s also done scenic or historical videos, taking his viewers on guided walks, or sharing a local occasional festival or event.

Though the public generally doesn’t perceive YouTube as a social network, Andy recalls that in 2006, it was just about the only game in town,  “In that time, Facebook was in it’s infancy. There was no such thing as Twitter, so it was the one place where you could more or less meet up and speak to each other and see each other as well.”

The Vlogger Interviews: Robert Anton

"The Vlogger Interviews" is a series of vlogs and blogs exploring the definition of vlogging – from the vlogger's perspective, If you like this interview, I would appreciate your subscription to http://youtube.com/worldaccordingtorich.blogspot.com on YouTube.

My latest interview features Robert Anton, a musician from New York City who first ventured online as a means to promote his music, and discovered a much bigger world.

“I’m a singer, songwriter, performer, music publisher and I am here on YouTube basically to promote my music – but with that comes a lot of other things. Now I have four channels on YouTube, and across those platforms I think what I’m doing is mostly just getting my voice out there.  I’m sharing some of my opinions and some of my life experiences, and interacting with people from all over the world.”

I first met Robert Anton at Vidcon – the YouTube content creator’s conference – almost a year and a half ago.   In an event filled with over-the-top enthusiasm, he stood out.  I thought that was because he’d just been notified that he’d been accepted in the YouTube Partner’s program.   It wasn’t just that.   If you watch him on YouTube, you soon realize that Robert simply projects energy.    

Six Reasons Why Every Film Student Should Have a YouTube Channel

1. The opportunity to create content for an audience - and receive direct feedback from that audience. Viewers can provide their feedback by "thumbing up" a video, leaving comments, and adding the video to their list of favorites. In addition, YouTube provides a service called "Insight" to every channel and every video, allowing the channel owner to analyze how their audiences are responding on a wide range of categories, including age, location, attention (how long people actually watch each video), and more. 
2. The opportunity to network , learn- and collaborate - with a wide range of like-minded content creators from around the world. Artists of all types can work together with an ease never before possible 
3. The chance to develop, early on, a track record as a filmmaker / content creator. Many YouTubers, without any training, have used their channels to generate real world content creation jobs. The channel, in effect, becomes a living, breathing, constantly changing demo reel with real-world endorsements from an engaged audience. 
4. With commitment to a YouTube channel, the filmmaker will need to develop content on a regular basis - not only keeping the "creative juices flowing," and developing his or her craft, but developing the creative discipline critical to success. 
5. The chance to develop the public speaking skills that are critical for any director - to be able to talk confidently to an audience with ease. Though vlogs are typically created alone, they're distributed publicly. Vloggers who host their own channels are also building extemporaneous speaking skills as well.  
6. Building and evenutally monteizing a YouTube channel offers the chance to develop valuable real-world entrepreneurial skills that successful filmmakers need.  The possibility of becoming a YouTube partner (and sharing in advertising revenue), is only one avenue through which an individual can financially benefit from their channel. Building an audience also provides the opportunity to create independent partnerships with advertisers and engage in additional opportunities such as product placement.

Your feedback is encouraged!

Vlogging For the Masses

In Andymooseman's comment on my last blog, "Why Do People Create on YouTube," he categorized himself as a hybrid of the first and third of the categories I mentioned - in short, someone who enjoys creating on YT for the sake of self-expression, but someone, at the same, who is open to exploring social media as an entrepreneurial opportunity.

It occurs to me that there may be a pathway to creating additional (monetary) value in the vlogs that Andy, Kenrg, OhCurt and many others create on a regular basis.  These vlogs are the modern equivalent of the opinion/commentary pages in your local newspaper (and now are as slashed to a bare minimum).  I'm not writing so much about the "Letters to the Editor" section, but the guest columnists that provided a community or individual voice on issues at hand.  These personal perspectives and anecdotes often provided the reader with a distinctly personal and  independent view apart from the "usual suspects" of reporters and paid columnists. 

Of course, guest columnists were never paid - but I still wonder if that concept can be adapted for the social media world.  Blogging, of course, has a robust presence on many news sites, but I would think that guest vlogs might even be a more attractive draw for the casual visitor.  

Guest vlogs on mainstream news and information sites, in turn, might help bring vlogs of this type to a larger (YouTube) subscription base - which in turn provides new opportunities for the vloggers themselves, reviving interest in this particular category, and widening the YouTube universe.