The art of ‘vlogging’

One year ago, I pulled out my video camera, looked into it and started talking.

That was the day I became a video blogger, also known as a vlogger.

Being a vlogger is an interesting experience, to say the least. Looking into a camera and talking can be unnerving and awkward at first, but after a while it becomes easier.

Truth be told, though, it's always kind of awkward.

Being a video blogger can make you feel exposed. You're putting your opinion out there, showing your face and your voice, which makes it really easy for people to attack you.

This doesn't mean that it's not worth it.

The life of a vlogger is fun. There is wide range of creative freedom in the way a person can make their videos, not to mention the large YouTube vlogging community that encourages communication and involvement.

My decision to become a video blogger was not completely impromptu. I was watching several other vloggers for a couple months and thought it looked like a lot of fun. Being a film major, I also figured it would be a great way for me to improve my editing skills.

As it happens, both of these turned out to be true. However, there were some things I wasn't expecting.

I quickly found out how difficult it is to talk to a camera. It can make you feel very self-conscious and vulnerable; I still don't like to film myself in public. Although I got better at this, the feeling never entirely goes away.

Trying to come up with material was and continues to be quite difficult.

Contrary to popular belief, most video bloggers don't talk about their daily lives. I lean more towards a conversational style that is probably the most common.

In this style, the vlogger talks about ideas or events that may have happened to them, but they also make sure the topic is relevant and relatable to their audience. This can make coming up with material quite challenging.

The amount of people I've met through vlogging is incredible. I'm not talking about people I've met face to face; some of them live halfway around the world. Through the community of video bloggers, I have gotten to know numerous amazing people who I wouldn't have been able to know otherwise.

I was surprised by the amount of positive feedback I got. My family is supportive — although I'm sure they think that vlogging is weird. My friends watch almost all of my videos and are always asking when my next will be made.

The most shocking, however, is the amount of positive feedback I get from people I don't know. I almost expect my friends and family to tolerate my weirdness and still love me; but when a person that has never met me and has no obligation to say anything positive to me says they liked my video, it is the most amazing feeling in the world.

I can't pretend I know all the ins and outs of video blogging, because I don't. Even though I've been making videos for over a year, I'm still not very experienced.

My style is far from concrete, but I'm learning. A lot of what I learn is through experience, but some is through watching other vloggers.

The "Vlogbrothers," "Charlieissocoollike," "Elmify," "Meekakitty" and "WheezyWaiter" are probably my biggest influences. Each has a very different style, and they are all very successful within those styles. I suggest you check them out if you're looking for some quality video blogs.

Vlogging is something that I really love doing. It's a little more than a hobby, but not quite a lifestyle — not yet anyway.

To check out Anna's video blog, go to www.youtube.com/HoboCrepe.