Recently, the word "vlog" has been frequently seen and heard in the world. Vlog is an abbreviation for Video Web Log, while blog was a shorthand for Web Log, which was in vogue not long ago. And it seems that this trend is only going to get stronger.
Although it is not known for certain, it is widely believed that the first video ever posted on a blog was a 15-second video shot by Adam Kontras in 2000 about sneaking his cat into a hotel where pets were not allowed. It’s easy to sympathize with Adam’s relief when he successfully brings the cat with him, and you can't help but watch it in spite of its trivial content.
These videos documenting everyday life came to be called "vlogs" later on. Already a popular genre in many countries, vlogs have made their way to Japan in 2019. Why is vlogging such a hot topic and what is the appeal of vlogging?
It refers to videos that are casually filmed of everyday life and uploaded to the web. Many of them use simple editing, connecting the footage and adding subtitles.
According to market research firm GlobalWebIndex, about 40% of the world's Internet users watch vlogs. Vlogs are particularly popular in Latin America and Asia.
How does vlogging fare in Japan? According to one survey, only about 10% of the Japanese have ever watched a vlog. Although it is still low, Google trends show that the popularity of vlogs on YouTube in Japan has been rising steadily, reaching an all-time high in 2020. In many cases, the vlogs are sent out by the general public, but of course there are also vlogs by celebrities.
In addition to YouTube, vlogs are also a popular genre of short videos on TikTok and other sites.
A search for "#vlog" on TikTok brings the total number of views to 2 billion, and while vlogs can be found on other social networking sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, it is TikTok that is the most well-known. The owner of the site suggests vlogs as a fodder for posts, and along with the tag "#everyone vlogger," he provides easy-to-understand instructions on how to make one.
Vlogs are getting more and more attention, but why are videos documenting everyday life so popular? People who watch vlogs seem to enjoy being able to relate to the lives of the people who post them. Many people leave comments on vlogs, as the natural expression of the vlogs makes it easy to relate to them and interact with them through comments.
Peeking into people's lives isn't just fun and empathetic. According to research platform JAKPAT, the most common reason for watching vlogs is to "gain new knowledge or information,” and vlogs can be a great way to learn about people's real lives in a way that can be useful to you. For example, in order to learn about cooking, you may look at the vlogs of others with knowledge in that area.
If you send out vlogs documenting your hobbies, you may eventually connect with people who share your interests and values. Vlogging is also an easy way to express yourself.
For example, vlogging is a great way to capture memories of events you've been to. Videos can be used to capture the sounds, expressions, and gestures of an event in an instant. Concise editing also makes the highlights easier to understand and makes it fun to watch the video back. If you have too many videos in storage that you've lost track of, why not give vlogging a try?
Following this trend, the Japanese digital camera industry is also accelerating the development and release of cameras designed specifically for vlogging.
Sony has launched a portable, sleek line of cameras called the VLOGCAM, with the first model called the ZV-1G, which promotes the idea that anyone can easily become a video blogger. What makes this camera unique are a number of features which make it well suited to capturing high quality videos in a portable format. The higher-end model, the a7C, has an amazing full-size sensor. The a7C is also designed to be a video oriented camera, and with Canon and Panasonic doing the same, we'll see more and more cameras with enhanced video capabilities in the coming year.
It will be interesting to see how the vlogging industry continues to expand in the coming year. As the number of video bloggers continues to grow, their influence on the world mayl surpass that of written blogs. There have been many cases where a few seconds of recorded video has become the talk of the world. In the near future, it may not be long before ordinary citizens are at the core of video reporting.
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