I’m a big fan of Mike Rundle’s writing and his latest work at Business Logs is a good example of his common sense approach to blogging. Today he’s written about Coattail Riding Instructions For YouTube and gives 3 “Don’ts” and 3 “Do’s” for adding video to a blog. Here’s his main points:
1. Don’t pretend to be Rocketboom
2. Don’t do vidcasts just because everyone else is doing them
3. Don’t be boring.1. Use YouTube as supplemental content, not the highlight.
2. Be original, be fun.
3. Extend YouTube.
My experience with adding video to blogs is that they have an amazing ability to add life to your blog. On the few times I’ve used it I’ve had an overwhelming positive response, increased readership (it’s amazing how it gets RSS reader to actually visit your blog) and it injects a new level of personality into your blog (literally adding a face and voice to it).
On the flip side – it’s worth noting that video takes time to produce and upload. Where you might be able to add a post to your blog in 15 or so minutes adding video can be an involved process that includes recording, editing (depending upon your style) and uploading. I’m sure in time this workflow would become quicker as you get used to the tools – but each time I’ve done a video it’s taken two or three times longer than a post on the same topic (sometimes more).
