Video Blogging Lesson from 3 Masters

For the last few weeks, here, at BloggingTips.com, I’ve been giving you video blogging advice on a wide range of things, from technique to equipment. Well, I learned everything I know from watching others. This week, then, I’m pointing you in the three directions of my favorite video bloggers. After all, sometimes you can learn best from watching, well, the best.

Name: Loren Feldman
Site URL: 1938Media.com
This tough talking New Yorker calls it like it is. Although he’s made a name for himself covering primarily tech, he doesn’t shy away from touching on larger pop-culture issues, and is best known for being controversial. In fact, his spoof on black tech bloggers cost him a contract with Podtech.

There are probably two major lessons that you can draw from Loren. First, you don’t need high-end equipment to blog. In fact, 99% of his clips are shot with the built in camera in a Mac. Second, being controversial (and even antagonistic) is fine so long as you’re interesting and know what you’re talking about. Loren regularly calls out others on their bulls**t. However, he only does so when it’s something that matters to his audience. Furthermore, he doesn’t over-step his bounds by treading on unfamiliar ground, and pretending to know about topics that he doesn’t.

Name: Jay Smooth
Site URL: IllDoctrine.com
Founder of NYC’s longest running hip-hop radio show and HipHopMusic.com, Jay Smooth discusses the implications of hip-hop in a larger pop-culture context. Rather than blindly evangelizing hip-hop music, he actually speaks with a voice of reason that’s nothing short of compelling. In fact, artists and mainstream commentators alike are vulnerable to both criticism and praise from Jay.

The most important video blogging lesson that you can learn from Jay Smooth is to apply your understanding of your audience to your final product. Jay doesn’t only resonate with his viewers (hip-hop fans) because he’s working to make sure that good apples of the industry don’t get lumped in with the bad. He also produces a product that mimics many of the very same characteristics of his topic: hip-hop music.

Jay’s clips are on the higher-end of the production scale, but that’s because his rants are cut up into punchy, syllogistic segments that lend them a lot of the same rhythm as a hip-hop track. Basically, he’s speaking to his audience in a style that they already relate to.

Name: Jay Grandin
Site URL: JayGrandin.com and Jay Video on MySpace
Now, this Jay is known for churning out random, sometimes slapstick comedy clips. They range anywhere from jolly rants about marketing bulls**t, to scripted skits about cultural stereotypes.

The kind of comedic talent that Jay Grandin employs is rare. What you can learn from him, however, is the importance of social media marketing and growing an online community.

Essentially, long before Jay Grandin hosted his own video blog, he was active on MySpace. There, he’d upload videos and network to publicize them. The result was a serious viral following. In fact, the response was so positive that before leaving for Europe, he put out a call on MySpace for places to stay. The result was that he found free room and board in London and Grenoble, Strasburg and Munich, and Gratz and Vienna.