Difference Between Blog and Vlog

The idea of sharing your personal experiences or observations about your life is not new. In fact, blogging has been around for quite some time now. And today, blogs are among the most shared content online. You drop a blog and suddenly you have people riveted. Blogs have always been a powerful medium to share your side of the story with the world. But a new form of blogging has emerged a few years back and which took the world by storm – video blogging or vlog. There has been a tremendous increase in popularity for video blogging in recent years, thanks to video platforms like YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, which are among the most used video sharing platforms out there. Video blogs are all the rage these days and surely one of the convenient ways to garner some internet fame and also gain some money online.

What is Blog?

Blogging has completely stirred up the mainstream media and the online world has changed tremendously due to the influence of blogging. As more and more blogs started to appear each day, so did the number of blogging tools. But what is a blog and what is blogging?

 A blog is anything informational, like a website or a webpage published on the World Wide Web consisting of all forms of content such as written text, pictures, videos, animated GIFs and what not. A blog is an abbreviated version of “weblog”, which is a common term used to describe a series of chronologically arranged content, often updated on a regular basis. A blog is like getting to know someone or watching a TV series; it’s a medium of sharing your thoughts and opinions online with the world. 

It is a web page that is regularly updated with written content, which are displayed as blog articles or blog posts, often displayed in reverse chronological order, meaning the newer ones are visible first.

What is Vlog?

Vlog is a relatively new form of blogging but a more powerful and immediate medium to share your story in the form of short videos. Also called a video blog or video log, vlog is a type of blog where the content is displayed in a video format rather than just written text.

 Whether it’s just a personal video diary of your everyday personal experiences, an instructional video, a product review, or a marketing video, video blogs are one of the most effective ways to tell your story. A vlog is like a personal website or a social media account where you can share short videos on a regular basis whether it’s a video of yourself doing anything funny or you are sharing some information on any subject you want. 

Vlogging is posting videos online, so obviously you need a video camera, but not necessarily a professional-grade video camera; a decent smartphone camera will do the job as well. Vlogging is an effective way to reach your audience in a more engaging way that text or images cannot achieve.

Difference between Blog and Vlog

Terminology used for Blog vs Vlog

– A blog is a shortened version of “weblog” which is a common term used to describe a series of chronologically-arranged content, often updated on a regular basis. A blog is a kind of informal diary-like entries or posts updated regularly and presented in a reverse chronological order, meaning the newer posts appear first. Vlog, also called video blog or video log, is a video form of a blog where the content is displayed in a video format rather than just written text.

Medium used for Blog vs Vlog

– The purpose of both blogs and vlogs are basically the same – to put your thoughts, your stories and your experiences into a platform that would reach tens of thousands of people, or probably millions. A blog is a combination of text and images put together into a larger story like a newspaper article but more intuitive and engaging. Vlogs, on the other hand, are a powerful and immediate medium to share your story in the form of short videos, hence they are also called ‘video blogs’ or ‘video podcasts’.

Platform for Blog vs Vlog

– While both blogs and vlogs revolve around content that mostly involve written events, personal experiences, stories or topics, the key difference between the two is the platforms they feature on. That being said, the most popular and widely used platforms for blogging are WordPress, Wix, Tumblr, Strikingly, Blogger, Squarespace, etc. The most common platforms for vlogging are probably YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo, DailyMotion, Flickr, Viddler, and more.

Engagement

 – Although the idea behind both blogging and vlogging is to achieve maximum user engagement and generate revenue in the process, the question is which one does it better? Blogging is to put whatever is in your mind or heart into words and it does not always come out the way you want it to in your writing. Vlogging, on the other hand, is an art, an opportunity to be really creative and by making videos, you can be 100% yourself and communicate with your audience better and in an engaging way that blogs simply can’t achieve.

Blog vs. Vlog: Comparison Chart

Summary

Both blogs and vlogs are great and effective storytelling mediums that allow you to tell your story, thoughts or ideas, or just anything you want. However, vlogs allow you to be more creative, providing an opportunity to communicate with a much larger audience in an engaging way that blogs simply cannot. While the purpose of both are to connect to the relevant audience, boost traffic to the website, gain quality leads and ultimately make some money out of it, the difference lies in which one does it better. The more frequent your blogs are, better your chances to get discovered. Same goes for vlogs, but they kind of take a step ahead and do it in the form of short but engaging videos.

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