Not to be confused withVerilog, a hardware description language.
Avlog[1] (/vlɒɡ/), also known as avideo blog orvideo log, is a form ofblog for which the medium isvideo.[2] Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and othermetadata. Entries can be recorded in one take or cut into multiple parts.
In recent years,[when?] "vlogging" has spawned a large community on social media, becoming one of the most popular forms of digital entertainment. Vlogs combine visual and auditory elements, allowing creators to convey context that may be less apparent in written formats.
Video logs (vlogs) also often take advantage ofweb syndication to allow for distribution of the video over theInternet, using either theRSS orAtom syndication formats, for automatic aggregation and playback on mobile devices and personal computers (seevideo podcast).[3] The vlog category is popular on the video-sharing platformYouTube.
In the 1980s, New York artistNelson Sullivan documented his experiences travelling around New York City and South Carolina by recording videos in a distinctive vlog-like style.[4]
On January 2, 2000, Adam Kontras posted a video alongside a blog entry aimed at informing his friends and family of his cross-country move toLos Angeles in pursuit ofshow business, marking the first post on what would later become the longest-running video blog in history.[5][6][7] In November of that year, Adrian Miles posted a video of changing text on a still image, coining the termvog to refer to his video blog.[8][9] Filmmaker and musicianLuuk Bouwman started in 2002 the now-defunct Tropisms.org site as a video diary of his post-college travels, one of the first sites to be called a vlog or videolog.[10][11] In 2004,Steve Garfield launched his own video blog and declared that year "the year of the video blog".[12][13]
YouTube
A YouTube vlogger greeting his audience
Vlogging saw a strong increase in popularity beginning in 2005. The most popular video sharing site,YouTube, was founded in February 2005. The site's co-founderJawed Karim uploaded the first YouTube vlog clipMe at the zoo on hischannel "jawed" in April 2005.[14] The ordinary "everydayness" and "dry aesthetics" ofMe at the zoo set the tone for the type of amateur vlogging content that would become typical of YouTube, especially amongYouTubers.[15] By July 2006, YouTube had become the fifth most popular web destination, with 100million videos viewed daily and 65,000 new uploads per day.[16] TheYahoo! Videoblogging Group also saw its membership increase dramatically by August 2005.[17][18]
Manyopen sourcecontent management systems have enabled the inclusion of video content, allowing bloggers to host and administer their own video blogging sites. In addition, the convergence of mobile phones with digital cameras allows publishing of video content to the Web almost as it is recorded.[19]
Vloggers on YouTube have formed social communities by sharing personal experiences and fostering emotional connections with viewers. The effect of this emotional exchange between strangers has been documented, for example, in the popularity of bereavement vlogs, in which grieving individuals reassure each other through friendly comments.[20]
Miscellaneous events
2005, January – Vloggercon, the first vlogger conference, is held in New York City.[21]
2006, November –Irina Slutsky created and hosted The Vloggies, the first annual video blog awards.[22]
2007, May and August –The Wall Street Journal places a grandmother[23] on the front page of its Personal Journal section.[24] In August 2007, she was featured on anABC World News Tonight segment[25] showing the elderly now becoming involved in the online video world.
Guinness World Record
In May 2019,Charles Trippy was awarded theGuinness World Record for the "Most Consecutive Daily Personal Video Blogs Posted On YouTube", having recorded 3653 consecutive videos to hisCharles and Allie YouTube channel over the previous ten years.[26]
International Development of Vlog
South America
South American countries like Brazil have a unique development path of vlog. Brazil is one of YouTube's largest markets. It is the fourth-ranked country by total video views (behind the United States [US], India and the United Kingdom [UK]) and third by total channel subscriptions (behind the US and India) (ChannelMeter, 2019). The existence of vlog in Brazil was a companion of the localization of YouTube, with more YouTube channels and creators focusing on Brazilian culture. For example, Felipe Neto (third channel in Table 1) created his channel in 2006 as a vlog, following typical modes of address and aesthetics that are part of this content type.
The emergence of vlog was a rebellion against the traditional Brazilian media, as the newspapers and TV usually told the stories about the elites, while the working class was marginalized. YouTube vlogs enabled individuals, especially those marginalized, to share their lives and speak up for themselves. It is noteworthy that many of the popular videos on Brazilian YouTube are at least partially targeted to the young CDE (Critério de Classificação Econômica Brasil, classification representing the low-income and working-class families in Brazil) classes' audience. In addition to music videos from top artists, there is a generation of YouTubers focused on discussing themes related to middle and lower classes' daily life in Brazil. For example, Whindersson Nunes (the creator of the channel of the same name) has been considered one of the most influential YouTuber in Brazil. He created humor comedies and parodies about the struggles of working-class North-Eastern Brazilians.
The popularity of vlogs on YouTube is not only a result of providing a platform for the marginalized to voice up, but also spreading out hidden messages related to social justice. Porta dos Fundos (Backdoors) is a professional independent audio-visual media producer which became famous on YouTube for producing sketch comedies that have a different type of humour than traditional humour shows on Brazilian television. The channel addresses taboo topics in Brazil, like police corruption, Christian hypocrisy and racism, from a different perspective than broadcast television.Even though some YouTube channels were challenging the portrayals on traditional television, these same creators were also producing content for television companies. Importantly, these YouTubers are not only producing for television; they are bringing new narratives and modes of representation to traditional media. Whindersson Nunes has a stand-up comedy special on Netflix and also writes and acts in a sitcom on the pay-TV channelMultishow. The traditional media used negative stereotypes in telenovelas and comedy TV shows to represent North-Easterners.While Whindersson Nunes uses humour and reversing stereotype techniques in his vlogs, parodies and television work to reframe the way North-Easterners and working-class Brazilians are represented in the media.[27]
Europe
Overall, the European market shows less engagement with vlog for multiple reasons. The European Union has strict data privacy laws and regulations. For instance, the Digital Services Act (DSA) mandates greater transparency, accountability and user protection across online platforms. This significantly impacts how brands manage content, advertising, and user interactions on social media. Similarly, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires platforms to seek explicit user consent before social media data collection to promote transparency and prioritize user-centric practices. In addition, Europe's cultural diversity, with 49 countries and numerous languages, creates a complex social media environment. Content must be tailored not only to language but also to cultural contexts. For example, in Germany, customers often prefer formal and direct communication, whereas in Spain, a more conversational tone may be favored.[28]
Despite the strict regulations on social media and a diverse audience, there are influential vloggers who brought this new way of narrative into the European market. SQUEEZIE (Lucas Hauchard) has over 18 million followers on YouTube, who is one of the most followed French YouTuber. He was known for his diverse range of video contents: gaming, vlogs, and comedic sketches. His vlogs are mainly interactive content of taking his audience to exciting adventures. For another example, Kwebbelkop (Jordi van den Bussche) is a Dutch YouTuber who has almost 15 million subscribers. His videos encompass a wide range of content, including gaming, challenges, vlogs, and comedic skits.[29]
Asia
China
China has a different social media landscape than the United States. While the US audience use YouTube, Instagram, TikTok as the main short video platforms, Chinese audience immerse with Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok), Bilibili, Xiaohongshu (Red Note), WeChat channel, etc. Bilibili is one of the main engines of the development of vlog in China, as 460,000 vloggers produced more than 1.45 million vlog posts, reaching 3.3 billion views by 2019 (Sohu, 2019).
Later than the US, vlogging culture has experienced rapid growth in China since 2018. And unlike the US whose vlogs form of narratives were developed from bottom-to-up, Chinese video-sharing and social media platforms launched a series of campaigns and favourable policies to promote vlogging. For example, Bilibili has launched a campaign called "Everybody can be a vlogger" with a slogan: "A vlog is more than just a record of life, it is an expression of the extraordinary in ordinary life! Become a vlogger, now! We have created the following courses tailored to the student/worker/couple vlogger status, so start your vlogging journey!" To encourage users to participate, the platform offers participants with rewards that are rarely received, one of the most important promises is visibility.[30]
The popularity of vlogs also invited the engagement of traditional media. Well-known anchors from official news outlets start their own channels or accounts. For example, Kang Hui, a news anchor at CCTV (China Central Television), started his own channel named "Kang Hui vlog". Through his channel, audiences are allowed to watch Kang Hui telling news stories by taking his audience to his workplace and the news sites. The program offer a sense of reality, interactivity, and personalized explanations, bringing hosts closer to viewers and making the format popular.[31]
The landscape of vlogs in China has a diverse range of contents: travelling, studying aboard, lifestyle sharing, etc. Some content creators play a role of communicating Chinese culture to the world through individual narratives. Li Ziqi, a Chinese vlogger who was known internationally for creating Chinese traditional food and handicraft production. Her videos shows the rest of the world about "Chineseness", including the rural customs, aesthetics, and cultural and scenic places.[32]
Japan
Japanese vloggers are called "J-vloggers". The rise in J-vlogging is part of the rise of YouTube in Japan around 2016. Marc Lefkowitz, YouTube's head of creator and artist development for Asia-Pacificis, said that the content uploaded from YouTube channels in Japan has more than doubled between 2016 and 2017.
Rachel and Jun, an American/Japanese married couple who make vlogs for their 1.8 million subscribers is a way they make a living, is one of the successful cases in J-vlog community. They mainly share their travelling experience on YouTube which gained them a lot of subscribers. Lefkowitz said "Tourism numbers are rising at lightning speed – 250% between 2012 and 2017... This is particularly interesting to me as it correlates with the rise of J-vlogging....People want to virtually travel here, learn more about the food, customs and culture." On the other hand, sharing their own daily lives in Japan helps the global audience to break stereotypes and have a genuine perspective about the real Japan.[33]
Uses
Impressions
Vlogs have made it possible to learn about a Vlogger's persona, culture, and impressions using non-verbal hints. Researchers have conducted experiments usingcrowdsourcing for Amazons Mechanical Turk to determine what kind of personality traits the Vlogger might have.[34] Many Vlogs have been personified by five big personality traits such as Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. Along with Mechanical Turk, researchers also looked at the cues that take place within Vlogs. Vlogs can be broken down to their elements considering that there are a lot of factors that play in the creation of one such as placement of camera, lighting, location, amount of time spent looking at the camera, pitch, delivery and amount of the interactions. Using this information and crowdsourcing, results have revealed that the highest rate in personality research was Agreeableness which makes Vlogging a great place to form Agreeable impressions. However, more non-verbal hints are more noticeable in other form traits such as Extraversion. Regardless, Personality impressions have made a more interesting Vlog viewing experience.[34]
Education
Vlogging has been experimented with school systems to determine if it is a reliable platform to deliver higher educational practices to students. Researchers have done an experiment that placed 42 collegefreshmen into a control and experimental group of 21 each.[35] Oral proficiency exams were given to all students to reflect their current speech skills, after a year of teachings based on each of the groups preference. The control group was instructed to work with their standard writing skills and create their own blogs, while the Experimental group tested their skills with online interaction. Scores for both groups had increased after both tests, however the experimental group had outperformed the control group due to the improvement of speech proficiency that came as a result of a more interactive learning environment between teachers and classmates. The control group claimed that not using video blogs "lowered their confidence" in their speaking proficiency.[35]
Health
Researchers have investigated how vlog-style YouTube videos made by creators who suffer from chronic illnesses can raise health awareness among viewers and create social communities among those suffering. A 2014 study evaluated the contextual relationship between vloggers who shared that they had diabetes, cancer, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and their audiences.[36] Most of the creators of these vlogs chose to focus their videos on how disease diagnosis and treatment had impacted them physically and emotionally. Commenters on the vlogs who shared personal characteristics formed ad hoc small groups; these impromptu support groups expanded over time as more and more people discovered the health vlogs.[36]
Women's rights
Vlogging is used by both feminist and anti-feminist voices to share their points of view.[37] For the former, vloggers such asHayla Ghazal who is based in Dubai, use humour to point our disparities between attitudes to genders in their country.[38][39] The latter might involve "tradwife" content, for example.[37]
Cultural Exchange
The short video platforms enable private individuals to share their authentic lives. With the growing popularity of vlogs, more vloggers share their trips on platforms, which allow viewers to experience the local culture vicariously and enhance cross-cultural understanding.
Travel vloggers usually share details about their trips including food, social norms, interpersonal interactions which traditional tourism media may overlook. Through authentic and comprehensive narratives, the vloggers play the role of reproducing the images of destinations, even changing people's travel intentions.
Vlog narratives boost a new form of marketing planning. Marketing researchers have found storytelling like vlog is more effective than factual arguments and statistics in brand communication, because it facilitates memory storage by providing context and meaning to information, making it more accessible to the human brain. According to systematic reviews of research on travel video materials, the audience's response are mainly affected by the destination image, which refers to 'a holistic mental picture, a sum of beliefs, ideas, and impressions that a person has about a destination.[40]
Live broadcasting
A Twitch streamer broadcasting live
YouTube announced a live broadcasting feature calledYouTube Live in 2008. This feature was also established by other social platforms such asInstagram,Facebook andTwitch.
YouTube presence
YouTube currently ranks among the top three most-visited sites on the web.[41] As a high traffic area for video bloggers, orvloggers, YouTube has created a platform for these participants to present their personal videos, which oftentimes are filmed using hand held point and shoot cameras.[42] The popularity of vlogs in the YouTube community has risen exponentially in the past few years;[43] out of the top 100 most subscribed YouTube channels, 17 provide vlogs as their primary style of footage.[42] Many of these vloggers are a part of the YouTube Partner Program, which professionalizes the industry and allows for monetary gain from video production.[44] This professionalization additionally helps increase exposure to various channels as well as creates a sense of stability within the field. Additionally, this professionalization allows content creators to be deemed a credible source by their viewers. Furthermore, many vloggers have been able to turn their channels into sustainable careers; in 2013, the highest paid vlogger brought in a minimum of $720,000 for the year.[45] Hollywood is taking notice of this rising medium, and has placed its value ranked over other entertainment companies such as Marvel, which is also owned by Disney.[46]
Privacy Concern and Regulations
In the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms played an anchor role in the short video ecosystem. Algorithm tools like Supply Side Platforms (SSP) trace users' behavior and offer personal recommendations. It is considered as a better service, while concerns about privacy invasion are raised at the same time.
The European Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is applicable as of May 25th, 2018 in all member states to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe. The regulation stipulated transparency. For example, in Chapter 3 Section 3 Article 17, users have the right to erasure ('right to be forgotten'). "The data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller the erasure of personal data concerning him or her without undue delay and the controller shall have the obligation to erase personal data without undue delay."[47]
Another EU law the Digital Services Act (DSA) also requires transparency. Platforms are obligated to explain how the algorithm works, and offer the users an option of non-profiling recommendation.[48]
^Monteiro Lunardi, Gabriela (2022).The 'Brazilian-ness' of Brazilian YouTube: New voices, new platforms, new television? (Thesis). Queensland University of Technology.doi:10.5204/thesis.eprints.233173.
^abLiu, Mei-hui (July 2016). "Blending a class video blog to optimize student learning outcomes in higher education".The Internet and Higher Education.30:44–53.doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2016.03.001.
^Li, Max Wenliang; Kim, Yoo Ri; Liu, Anyu; Scarles, Caroline; Chen, Jason Li (2025-01-27). "Storytelling in Travel Vlogs: Scale Development, Validation, and Application".Journal of Travel Research 00472875241312178.doi:10.1177/00472875241312178.ISSN0047-2875.
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