An Irony of Blogs

I don't think most people realize just how outdated blogs are. Blogging started 1994 and even though the medium has evolved greatly over the last 12 years, more modern forms of mass communication are being greatly overlooked. It's nearly impossible to convey emotion in written text, but if you simply stick your head out your office window and yell people will pick up on your intent of your message. This is because the tone of someone's voice is an important factor in communication.

Of course, podcasting could prove a much better alternative if your target audience lies outside of your building. However, even though podcasts are relatively new, and they allow much better communication, they still lack a fundamental element. 90% of human communication is conveyed in body language. After all, you can't give someone the finger with text or audio alone.

That's why videocasting (vloging, video blogging, etc.) has become more popular. Not only do videocasts accurately convey a sense of emotion; they capture nearly all non verbal communication. Most people nowadays have suitable video capturing devices built into their computers, digicams, phones and other devices and decent Internet connections, which would make this the ideal medium if only there wasn't one small problem.

Successful communication requires two way interaction. In the time it takes for a video to be processed, uploaded, and viewed a large number of things can change. By the time someone responds to a videocast, either by text or with another video, the issue may be moot. Which brings me to the point. Ironically, the best known method of communication is one of the oldest: one on one conversation. You may not reach a lot of people this way, but the message will be perfectly preserved.

Article by Rich Moore