YouTube announced in June that it would be working with the University of California at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism to track breaking news videos uploaded to YouTube every minute. According to the YouTube blog, the video channel will be tested over the next few months and will consist of videos uploaded by amateur videographers as well as professional journalists. The newsfeed can be found on CitizenTube, which has previously been YouTube’s news and political blog prior to this experiment.

With YouTube being the #2 search engine on the web and Google TV bringing the innovation of the internet to the television, it is no surprise that video blogging has recently become more and more popular. Video blogs, or vlogs, defined as a video form of blogging, started to become popular in 2005 right around the same time YouTube was founded. Since then, many bloggers and companies have recognized the benefits of video content and are incorporating video into their corporate blogs as well.

Online videos that are posted properly are 53 times more likely to get a first page ranking on Google than conventionally optimized webpages. That’s the finding of a recent study by Forrester Research, as reported by Benjamin Wayne in a Search Engine Watch article.

Creating a Video Blog

Creating a video blog can be time-consuming, but not as challenging as you might think. You will need a digital camcorder, editing software, and a high-speed internet connection. Here are a few types of video editing software that we recommend:

• Final Cut Pro 7 - This program requires a Mac Computer and is a high quality video editing solution that contains a full range of customization options and editing tools.
• Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 – This program can be used with a Mac or PC computer and offers real-time editing and other powerful management tools. There is a free trial you can download if you want to try the software prior to purchasing it.
• Camtasia Studio – This program is primarily used as screen capture software, meaning it records what you are doing on the computer screen. This is a basic program that should be used for simple video blogs. There is a free trial you can download as well.
• YouTube Video Editor – This is a new tool that allows users to combine and edit videos, add audio and publish content all without installing software. Now available in YouTube’s ideas incubator, TestTube.

Once you are prepared to create your vlog, come up with your own topic. Some bloggers discuss educational topics or current events; others use their blog to express personal feelings on a specific issue. Once you have recorded your video, upload it to your video editing tool and create your vlog. If you don’t have a blog, then you can create your own blog using a free blogging website such as blogger.com.  

Optimizing a Video Blog

Many would agree that users today would prefer to watch a 2-minute video rather than read a 100-word essay, but how do you get readers to find your video blog?

Video optimization should be a part of your video blogging process. It is best to use video optimization techniques that search engines recommend such as building a video sitemap to ensure all video content is indexed or providing alternative text content on the video page using SWFObject.

Enhancing the quality of your videos will attract more viewers and help build your online reputation. You should also promote your video blog on social networks and talk to your search engine optimization team to ensure that your video content is getting as much exposure as possible.