Vloggers including Danisnotonfire, AmazingPhil, TomSka, Jack and Dean, Patricia Bright, Charlie McDonnell, Sprinkle of Glitter and Jim Chapman
I tried vlogging once, about eight years ago. I wasn't terribly good at it I don't think. That's why I prefer words now. I can control the written word more and the image I project of myself. In that way, the written word creates a protective barrier.
Video leaves me feeling all exposed. That might be my age. At 42, I don't consider myself old of course (whatever 'old' actually means). Rather, I recall a time when I was a little more fearless. Using video to express offered potential opportunities, creative satisfaction (videographers will nod in agreement when I say the cutting of clips against a music soundtrack can be the most satisfying jigsawing process ever). I knew I was never going to get a massive following. But, what the internet promised was my own space - there was enough room for me and everyone else. That was why (along with a bicycle accident which saw me incapicitated for ten days) I made this video about the in 2007.
I quickly discovered the addictive quality digital creativity presented and with it an inherent fear of being criticised. "There's a lot about you, isn't there?" said one producer (just as there is in the opening two paragraphs of this blog). The point was that the fear of negative feedback as well as that posted online underneath your creation had its impact. Creativity became a compromise: wanting to go free-form on the one hand, but also not wanting to do anything which would invite negative feedback.
published as part of Safer Internet Day really struck a chord. Head of Media Literacy , explaining how the contributions from schoolchildren had been made possible. The results are compelling. Young people sharing their experiences about life online. Good stuff and bad stuff. All of it there, plain to see.
Captivating and absorbing individuals whose stories have an unexpected effect: they make me both proud and protective of people I don't know. In part, because as an adult I recognise something of my own experience in their stories. But, also because the medium I've relied upon as a channel for my creativity, and later my livelihood, is the same medium which makes some of them experience pressure of the kind I never had to experience as a kid. There's bravery stitched into those talking heads too and a defiance which, even as I type, can make the tears well up. If you've not seen them, take a look.
Off the back of the 主播大秀 Webwise videos, I've made a point of listening to the and just this morning watched the show on the Radio 1 channel on 主播大秀 iPlayer. I assumed I'd be shuffling uncomfortably from foot to foot, aware that this was something intended for a different group of people. It didn't take long before that was proved wrong and some other thoughts took their place, noted below.
1. There are some phenomenally natural Vloggers out there who exude warmth, passion and love for the online space they occupy. They are beacons for their primary audience and signposts for the rest of us.
2. The advice they offer is advice I could usefully follow myself given my weakness for Twitter and the rate I find myself distracted by Facebook, blogging and email. I like the idea that people younger than me can give me advice. It challenges my assumptions about the world and somehow makes it a more colourful, vibrant place to live.
3. That advice - the analogy of a troll being a little like a pig who likes to roll around in the mud; why would we want to roll around in the mud with them when only the pig enjoys the process? - is as applicable to the real world as it is to the digital space. Whilst we're pursuing a #nicerinternet, might we help shape a more positive generation?
4. If you're in a bad mood, having a bad day or considering saying something negative online, consider it through the prism of: would you say this to your friend's mother? It's the same sound advice as considering whether what you're about to say on Twitter would be something you'd be prepared to say live on the radio.
5. Not tolerating (or indeed condoning) cyber-bullying seemed the easiest advice to take on board: ignore, block and report. Something which naturally leads on to the question: why on earth would you do anything which might prompt someone to ignore, block and report you?
Jon Jacob is Editor, About the 主播大秀 Blog
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