September 20, 2007

We are gathered here today...
by Meahgan Pear

The marriage of vodcasting and professional writing

Here comes the bride...

When you think of a professional writer, it’s safe to say that one of their main duties is to write. Right? Let me interject here for a moment - now, for those of you who don’t know much about professional writers, I imagine you grabbing the computer screen and feverishly yelling…“Yes, captain obvious…the term ‘write’ is in the title itself so it must be part of their profession.”Or maybe that’s just how I hoped the conversation would go down.

Either way, it does seem pretty obvious that professional writers do a vast amount of writing, but they also do a lot more. In essence, professional writers are communicators – every aspect of their job deals with communicating information to someone through some sort of method or format. Professional writers deal with document design, multimedia writing, content development, and much more – all of which are forms of communication. In fact, nowadays professional writers are even finding themselves working so closely with technology that the formats of communication have changed due to the new emerging trends in this tech savvy world.

Ahh, the tech savvy world. Individuals everywhere are becoming more and more well versed in the various technologies of this world, that even ‘amateurs’ are now producing things that 5-10 years ago might have only been produced by professionals. Let me give you an example; most of you are familiar with web logs, or what they are more popularly called – “blogs.” Over the past year or so, blogs have significantly changed the way individuals write. In J.D. Lasica’s article Blogs and Journalism Need Each Other, he says that blogs are a form of “participatory journalism,” or more specifically, “individuals playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, sorting, analyzing and disseminating news and information” (Lasica, 2003, p. 71). So – in layman’s terms, blogs have become a form of communication – and one that professional writers are beginning to embrace. For instance; there’s a great blog out there, written by a professional writer about how to write a better blog. So not only are professional writers embracing this new technology, they’re now teaching how to use it correctly. Priceless. (Check it out – it’s actually quite good.)

Now, you may be thinking – blogs…those are so old. Well, even though they only appeared on the scene a few years ago, with the growth in technology I would have to agree with you. So let me give you another example that’s taking the technology circuit by storm: video podcasting, also known as vodcasting. Aww, our miss professional writer has fallen in love.

Ever heard of a vodcast?

I’m sure there are some of you out there that have since podcasting has been on the increase with Apple’s constant revision of the infamous iPod (Farkas, 2006). But for those of you who haven’t, well, we’re about to dive into the world of vodcasting – allow me to introduce you to the groom. 

Mr. Vodcast...

According to a very handy little book entitled Secrets of Podcasting: Audio Blogging for the Masses, video podcasting is basically a podcast in video form (Farkas, 2006, p. 170). It’s also called video blogging or vlogging – and no this isn’t the act of whipping someone, that’s flogging. A few years ago, when podcasting was huge, most of that was audio-based (Farkas, 2006, pp. 168 - 169). However, with the rise in portable video players, such as Apple’s new iPod (which unofficially became known as the “video iPod”), people were able to upload and play vodcasts just like a podcast (Farkas, 2006, p. 168). Before the invent of the 2005 “video iPod,” people were really only able to watch vodcasts on the computer rather than take the video with them (Farkas, 2006). Today, users can still download vodcasts to their computers, but the cool thing is the portability – imagine it now with Apple’s new iPhone.

With these devices, vodcasts have been popping up all over the place. Amateurs, professionals, “mom-and-pop” shops – almost everyone is creating these vodcasts for anyone to download and watch (Farkas, 2006, p. 168). Don’t believe me – okay then, check out this web site: www.vodcasts.tv. They’ve got a list of tons of vodcasts out there, just waiting for you to watch them.

Do you Mr. Vodcast, take Miss Professional Writer…

Let’s hope he says yes. Not only for the sake of saving miss professional writer utter embarrassment on her wedding day – but vodcasting can be an asset for professional writers in today’s world. With vodcasting, professional writers get a chance to step out of the box a bit.

For example; some vodcasts are actually scripted. Some of them are not. So, these more professional vodcasts – someone’s got to be writing them…right? Sure. Well, this is where professional writers come in. Professional writers are communicators, but as I said earlier, they are also content developers. The content that comprises these vodcasts (the more professional ones), have to be organized, produced, effectively communicated to an audience, etc. etc. Pretty much the process any professional writer would take before writing a manual, brochure, or anything for that matter. As J. Porter says in his article Why Technology Matters to Writing: a Cyberwriter’s Tale, “technologies play a huge role – especially in terms of production (process) and distribution (delivery)” (Porter, 2002, p. 386). Vodcasts are a new way for professional writers to produce and distribute writing – they are a new medium for communication that allows professional writers to alter their writing and experience a new genre – like script writing, perhaps.

So here’s the cool thing. Companies today are even beginning to jump on the technology bandwagon, and using vodcasts to promote their products. For example – BMW, the German car manufacturer– oh the happy couple should really get one of those! According to an article in the Journal of Universal Computer Science, BMW just created a vodcast and made it available to customers so they could learn about new products and features of BMW cars (Kolbitsch & Maurer, 2006). So in a way, this vodcast is like writing a brochure. It serves as a form of communication. Just like a professional writer might write and design a print brochure for BMW, they now have the opportunity to shift the traditional writing of a brochure into a more unique approach – the vodcast – and reach an even larger audience. The format may be new, but the professional writer is still acting as a content developer, still organizing, producing, and effectively communicating the information – just in the form of a vodcast.

I now pronounce you husband and wife...

As you can see, knowing about the latest technologies, such as vodcasts, can be a huge asset for professional writers. Earlier, when you were about to throw your computer out the window at my seemingly obvious comment – you can now see that there is a lot more associated with the duties of a professional writer than just writing. It’s all about communication. These vodcasts can serve as a form of communication for many different things. And just like any other piece of communication, there are certain things that need to be done.

So who said professional writers aren’t affected by technology? Okay, so I don’t think anyone said this, but the fact is they need each other. Vodcasts are just one of the many new emerging technologies that professional writers might be faced with, and they should utilize them. So, even if you don’t know much about new technology, get out their and take the plunge!

Go get married!! (okay maybe not literally)