Video or Text? | Bloggers Lair | Yakezie Forums

I like all of the methods you mentioned. I think it really depends what I am trying to learn. If it is a skill then a video for me is best. If it is a theory than I really like podcasts. If you offer an option for everyone on your new site you are bound to maximize your readership potential.

Personally, I like to read text. I almost NEVER click on videos. But, I'm just one person. It's probably good to do a mix of everything to attract the largest group of people possible.

If you're drawing the occasional visitor on a specific topic, then video is probably fine, but if I'm going to a site (or getting it's feed) every day, I would say text is the way to go.  I don't click through to very many videos and even if my favorite ten everyday sites went all video, I'd probably find ten new sites to take those spots :)

Video is a great addition to a blog. As a visual learner this appeals to me, moreso than a page of text.

Check out Seths Blog, Urban Velo, Wisebread, Money Crashers, Man Vs Debt, Smrt Passive Income… They're all highly visual. Text is important for the facts, and adding some personal color, but with so little time and so much to read, video makes it easier for readers. Check out CNN, and Yahoo, it's all visual. 

FrugalBeautiful said:

Wow, the responses are really a mixed bag!  I'm thinking I probably should provide both and just use my best judgement for what format I think is appropriate for the information I'm trying to convey.

 

In terms of interviews- are video interviews (you know, the ones that are done via webcam) weird or should I just do audio interviews?

 

Thanks for your feedback!

 

I prefer the video interview vs. audio personally.  Then again, if you do video interviews, you should be able to convert it to .mp3 and turn it into a podcast.    I know that with Blip.tv they can do this automatically.   Not sure how you do it on your own, but I'm sure it's possible.  Then if you get the interview transcribed, you got everything: text, audio and video.  Trifecta!

I rarely do video.  I'm a bit of a speed reader and I tend to fall asleep when people read to me, which is how a lot of videos come across.

There was one video blogger a few years ago who did all of her video blogging in a bikini.  That kept my attention.  I'm just saying.

I can see the temptation of offering identical content in several channels, and perhaps this would be an efficient way to produce multiple blogs and leverage the content to to the max. Although, I don't think offering multiple channels for the same content on a single platform (blog) would work. Producing a blog is as much about packaging and delivery as content. Print, TV, and radio each have different programming strategies that appeal to their audience. Putting it all together is like Ford producing the Edsel; it had all the bells and whistles but appealed to no-one.

Most of the sites I frequent use all of the above. If they do a video they also provide a transcript and MP3 version of the interview/post. They have every preference covered.

Thanks Jeff, Mixergy is an interesting resource. It has a lot going on.

I click on a video but never audio. I only use podcasts for music. One downside to video/audio is that Google does not pickup the text unless you transcribe it.