Will Video Kill the Blogging Stars?

I always loved this song, Video Killed the Radio Star.  But I never thought I might be witness a paraphrased version of it someday. Specifically, is video going to kill the “blogging stars” – and maybe even the “lawyer stars?”

Consider this trend.  Lawyer bloggers  Imke Ratchko of  New York Small Business Law and Nicole Black of Sui Generis have stepped way, way out in front of others, with video greetings on their blog.  (I tried my own shaky little video experiment but here, but have yet to add one permanently as Imke and Niki have done).  The greetings are short, but they give us information about each blogger looks and sounds, and even what their personality is like.  They’re a way for each blogger to step off the page and outside the screen and introduce themselves to the world.  If, as blogger Craig Williams said, blogs are a handshake to the world, then video greetings are a huge embrace.  And though some might say that an embrace isn’t appropriate in the business setting, technology hasn’t replaced our humanity.  Quite simply, people crave the human touch, we still remain intensely curious about how others look and sound, indeed, even more so after we’ve read what they’ve written. And in a world that’s become increasingly one dimensional, as we conduct many transactions remotely by email, the video blog captivates our attention and satisfies our curiosity.

According to reports like this, YouTube will play a huge role in the upcoming 2008 elections, and indeed, had some impact in 2006.  And it’s going to be a huge marketing tool for lawyers, because the more information that we can share with our clients, the more likely we are to be hired.  So follow our leaders, Imke Ratschko and Nicole Black into this brave, new visual world while it’s still wide open.  And I’m looking forward to seeing all of you (at least virtually) on the web this year!