This is a question that I want to put to all of you. I know even in my own small social network that there are the bloggers who write out their thoughts in text, the v-loggers (that is video bloggers for my mom if she is reading….don’t worry, she isn’t), and podcasters doing audio. There is a lot of content out there on the good old internet and in a myriad of formats.
But the question is, which one do you prefer?
For me, I would rather text or a conventional blog anytime. I am a very fast reader so a page blog post is only a few seconds of my time and if its boring I can skim it quickly and just get the main points.
My least favorite is video for informational content. In general, if a video is over 1 minute, I won’t watch it at all. This same rules applies to e-commerce v-logs as videos of cute puppies on Roombas or whatever. It takes a pretty awesome video to make me stick around more than 60 seconds. If I watch your video, feel pretty honored. It means that you either were very interesting or everything else on my computer was crashing so I watched it while waiting for the Task Manager to open. I will sometimes leave a video open in the background and just listen to the audio but then I miss 50% of the experience so I usually just skip it altogether.
Audio is tricky for me. Most of the work I have to do is really thought intensive. I cannot, for instance, write (be it email, blog post, listing text, whatever) and listen to speaking at the same time. Music, yeah, no problem. Sing your analysis to me and I am all over that, but I cannot digest spoken word while writing. There is a small part of my job that is mindless enough that I can listen to audio while working but by the time I get to that part, I usually am so burnt out that I would rather listen to an audiobook or podiobook for an escape. I try to save audio for later when I will be able to listen to it while working but usually that just results in my forgetting all about it.
In the end, for me, it all comes down to time. Reading a blog post physically takes the least amount of time so I will always take that first.
How about you? Where do you stand with the online trinity of video, audio and text? How would you order them in terms of your preference?
(I’m asking partially because I have the means to do any of the three and am wondering if I should mix it up on this blog and, if so, how.)
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It all boils down to time for me.
Written content is most appealing followed by audio.
I have a limited tolerance for video. It requires simultaneous viewing and listening meaning I have to give it my full attention. Even when it’s a great video, I usually tune out after the 1st 30 seconds.
Written content fits well into my time constraints because it can be skimmed & saved or printed it out to view at a more convenient time.
Audio content can be downloaded and is probably my favorite because I listen to it during my daily 2 mile walks/workout.
However as a blog writer and podcaster, I’m all for mixing it up. Some folks are visual learners & some are audio & I’m hoping to capture the attention of both!
It all boils down to time for me.
Written content is most appealing followed by audio.
I have a limited tolerance for video. It requires simultaneous viewing and listening meaning I have to give it my full attention. Even when it’s a great video, I usually tune out after the 1st 30 seconds.
Written content fits well into my time constraints because it can be skimmed & saved or printed it out to view at a more convenient time.
Audio content can be downloaded and is probably my favorite because I listen to it during my daily 2 mile walks/workout.
However as a blog writer and podcaster, I’m all for mixing it up. Some folks are visual learners & some are audio & I’m hoping to capture the attention of both!
Marlene I feel like you and I pretty much think the same way on this! 🙂
Marlene I feel like you and I pretty much think the same way on this! 🙂
Funny… I was just thinking about this same topic earlier today. I was wondering if I should start offering some video on my website. Then I rembered that I rarely have the time to watch a video when someone sends me a link or puts it on their blog. I always file it to watch later – but never seem to get around to it.
Much like your first commentor, I like text. If I don’t have time to read it, I can print out and take it with me. Podcasts are great for my exercise time on the treadmill when I can’t read or to listen to when I’m on a long trip. Video just does’t seem to fit in my busy lifestyle.
Funny… I was just thinking about this same topic earlier today. I was wondering if I should start offering some video on my website. Then I rembered that I rarely have the time to watch a video when someone sends me a link or puts it on their blog. I always file it to watch later – but never seem to get around to it.
Much like your first commentor, I like text. If I don’t have time to read it, I can print out and take it with me. Podcasts are great for my exercise time on the treadmill when I can’t read or to listen to when I’m on a long trip. Video just does’t seem to fit in my busy lifestyle.