Jeff Jarvis over at Buzz Machine is talking about video logs as the next itteration to blogging. Now, I do realize that blogging has made a significant impact on the print media industry, but I'm not as confident in VLogs to change the face of TV as Jeff is. I'm not saying it isn't a good thing, but I think that there is so much more involved in video than people are willing to go through.

Take this blog for instance. I've got a steady stream of about 3 readers and 2 of them were looking for “Sharp Cheddar” and accidentally clicked on me. I can't make much of an impact until my blog actually starts cranking out insightful commentary, controversial posts, or late breaking, investigative news. All of those take a considerable amount of time.

Most of the day, I am at work. When I get a lull, I might post something such as this, but I have to be careful not to waste my employer's time. But blogging is a relatively easy thing to do. I hit “Admin” click on “New Post”, type some words and hit submit. Done. Video is so much more complicated that I don't see too many people putting in the amount of effort needed to produce something that may or may not be seen by a large audience.

Video isn't a point and click thing. I should know, I've done quite a bit of editing in my time. Another issue is that it's not just the post editing, it's the shooting of the video as well. You have to worry about lighting, audio, backgrounds, etc. A poorly designed web site is usually still readable, but poor video with awful sound isn't even watchable.

Now, I understand that many people won't be trying to go for the 6 O'Clock broadcast news look, and the concept of cheaply distributing your ideas in video is a great tool for empowering the up and coming producer. I can also see people putting videos of Junior's homerun up for the family to see, and that's cool. But will that many people take the time to make a video regarding their opinion on the latest Iraq news when it would take a tenth of the time to just write up a post?

I look forward to the day when TV is a la carte, when I chose a show to watch when I want to watch it and not rely on a channel to deliver it. Marketing will have to change, and it will, but I think that the quality of shows would go up tremendously. And although I have doubts that we are ready for VLogging right now, I am sure in time it will evolve and hopefully move the traditional media into the 21st century.