I don’t see a lot of regular Germans posting video about themselves.
Could be that I just don’t hang out where the online German spots are.
But a recent Wired article discussed how videoblogging is getting into German politics.
Pretty amazing to me that the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is doing a weekly videopodcast.
Update: My friends at Xolo.tv made a video on this event earlier this year.
hey Jay, I guessed you missed our interview with Angela Merkel this summer, huh?
While in Berlin for the World Cup, we went to her for a real interview (also about videoblogging), but as she had worked all night, we were granted a sort personal chitchat in her office. In the end, though, we did get to talk about videoblogging and how she felt about. Off camera we gave her some tips and pointers, and she was happy with that. She’s really into this medium, but she wasn’t happy with the very strict ‘tv-approach’ (hence the million euro studio they installed, pff). Since that interview she has changed the setup a bit, a bit more loose and relaxed.
Overall, Germany is certainly picking up steam and this year we have been able to build great relationships with German videobloggers, even working with them on commercial vlog projects (like vlogbymini.de).
hey Jay, I guessed you missed our interview with Angela Merkel this summer, huh?
While in Berlin for the World Cup, we went to her for a real interview (also about videoblogging), but as she had worked all night, we were granted a sort personal chitchat in her office. In the end, though, we did get to talk about videoblogging and how she felt about. Off camera we gave her some tips and pointers, and she was happy with that. She’s really into this medium, but she wasn’t happy with the very strict ‘tv-approach’ (hence the million euro studio they installed, pff). Since that interview she has changed the setup a bit, a bit more loose and relaxed.
Overall, Germany is certainly picking up steam and this year we have been able to build great relationships with German videobloggers, even working with them on commercial vlog projects (like vlogbymini.de).
http://watchme.xolo.tv/index.php/2006/07/21/wmx-60-vlogging-with-german-chancellor-angela-merkel/
Maybe it’s also because – unlike the Scandinavians – Germans don’t prefer to speak English at their online spots.
Sadly the language is often another cause for ignorance in the America->Europe direction.
Agreed. I never doubt my own ignornace.
I guess I expect that video to help bridge these language gaps.
I don’t necessarily need to understand what people are saying to enjoy their videos. I guess the problem I’m having is…where are the german videos being uploaded? Where are the Japanese videos being uploaded? Where are the Brazilian videos being uploaded?
Won’t video break down these barriers since we all share a visual language?
Jay, you’re the last guy to be called ignorant. Traditionally, Germans stick more to their native language, both on tv and online. Nothing wrong with that, French are not much different. History, culture, habits, sense of self, it’s all different (compared to, let’s say The Netherlands). But that doesn’t mean they don’t look outwards. Personally I have seen that change quite a bit over the last few decades. Anyway, to answer one of your questions; most populair video site in Germany is sevenload.de, their equivalent of YouTube. It’s actually quite nice(r).
cya
Noone called Jay ignorant and his awareness of the possibility of ignorance proves that he isn’t.
But the internet is still US-dominated and the average US-american I come across on the web is hard to convince that he isn’t living in the center of the world.
Video might bridge language distances but just like blogs most vlog-videos are just personal banter that’s hardly interesting for someone living in even the neighboring street. So we likely won’t watch a long talkin-head-video in a language we don’t understand. There’s no visual language we share that could carry a fraction of a message. Most people (our chancellor too) use video not because they have to show something, but because the have to say something and just want to catch more attention than they could if they write it somewhere.
If you have to say something, write it. If you have to show something, film it. And just for the latter we share the language.
Good to know about that German video site.
What I want is for people of different cultures and languages to start showing each other better ways. How we affect each other.
haha I got big ideals…but i know video is what will be the bridge.
I love Germans…my Grandma was named Nussbaum.
I’m glad my ignorance cannot be debated.
haha it’s a good thing as I keep learning.
I agree Denk that most of video will be talking heads.
If we want video to cross-over language barriers we do need to SHOW things.
People will take the time to translate video that must be seen.
What many of us are interested in seeing is better ways to do things.
Like here’s a video where a friend showed off his car that runs on waste vegetable oil.
http://ryanishungry.com/?p=43
There’s more info here than just what he says.
As video creators, it’s up to us to push out.
Hey Jay. I think Nicole Simon would make a great vlogger. She already gets podcasting and she has some great content and connections. I wish she did more video interviews. She’s going to a Podcamp soon and maybe someone there will be vlogging. I left her a comment. Check out her blogs and podcasts. She rocks!
http://bloxpert.com/Leweb-3:-Interview-with-Ewan-Spence-Jonas-Luster-71