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View count:8,466
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Duration:06:32
Uploaded:2010-04-13
Last sync:2024-02-24 19:45
In which Hank vlogs about the streamies lack of focus on Vlogging and sense of self-importance.

http://newteevee.com/2010/04/12/the-streamy-awards-a-producers-apology-and-its-three-fails/
(0:00)Good morning! It is the 13th day of April, the 12th day of me vlogging every day of April. Doing pretty good. So far.

(0:07)I have spent most of my time today answering VidCon emails and working on the Truth or Fail fact finder submission form. The markup is all done, just working on the database. Thank you to Sam, for helping me so much with that.

(0:19) I just read a long article of NewTV. NewTV is one of the premiere, probably the premiere online video blog. Which I read all the time. I just read a really long article there- not really long- really long for the web, article there about the Streamy Awards.

(0:33) Now I know a bunch of people who were at the Streamy Awards but I wasn't really paying attention to the Streamy Awards. I think that the Streamy Awards are kind of interesting. I'm not- I don't really- I'm not really sure about them.

(0:41) But the thing is, they are kind of on- they're an event to do with online video and I'm also doing an event to do with online video. So I need to be paying attention to these kinds of things, so I read this article with great interest. And I was reading this very long blog post about how the Streamy Awards did not go particularly well, which aside from the fact it's almost good new for me, because at least it lowers the bar for VidCon, as long as we can keep everybody's pants on we will be, you know, people will be like "Oh, this isn't so bad. People are wearing pants."

(1:13) So I'm reading about the Streamys and a couple of things are striking me as interesting. Problems included miscommunication with guests. People thought there was going to be food when there wasn't food, so people were hungry and that makes them cranky.

(1:24) Additionally, I saw Michael Buckley tweet about the fact that they did not let him walk down the red carpet with his husband. What!? How is this moving forward from the traditional entertainment industry if a frickin gay guy can't have a husband and walk down the red carpet with him. Whoever made that decision, I want you to be held accountable.

(1:41) Another one of the Streamy's problems, it just didn't have the right attitude or taste, and it was vulgar and it was uninteresting and it wasn't focused on the people, who are receiving the prizes. It was focused on short attention span sketch comedy.

(1:57) The thing that really interests me about the Streamys is the focus on web series. Generally I have found that online video fiction stuff just doesn't work. I can't think of a successful, fictional, YouTube or online video project that isn't sketch comedy. Or vlogging based.

(2:15) Okay, I just thought of 2. The Guild, which has vlogging components but is not vlogging based. And Dr. Horrible's sing-along blog which also has vlogging components but is not vlog based.

(2:27) It's interesting that those 2 very successful online video projects, that each of them start out with someone talking to the camera. Because there's something about that. Something about this relationship that makes it okay to then spring into something else.

(2:45) Because if you don't have this relationship then it's not a sit down at your desk experience. It's a sit-down-at-your-couch experience. When you're doing a sit-down-at-your-desk experience you expect the person on the other side of the camera to be interacting with you and to be asking you to interact. When you sit down at your couch you expect to be passive and sitting there.

(3:03) Now it's very interesting to me that the Streamys have this focus on episodic web content which is really, in terms of viewership, unsuccessful. I'm not saying it isn't good, a lot of the stuff is really great. I've watched it, I enjoy it, but the thing is, I don't go back to it. I don't know why I don't go back to it but I don't feel like I'm interacting with it in the way that I should be. And I don't feel like I'm enjoying it in the way I expect to be, when I'm sitting at my desk.

(3:30)I think it's amazing that the creators of Guild and Dr. Horrible both found this interaction, the vlogging the blogging interaction, to have as their spring-off point. Where you're doing the honest video thing that people do (that was also the springing-off point for Lonely Girl) and then you can do fiction. And then people will accept it.

(3:49) So that's why this focus on episodic web content on drama and comedy series is peculiar to me. Because those aren't successful. There was one vlogging category at the Streamys. One. All of the most successful online video projects are either sketch comedy or their vlogging. (4:08)

And then there are all these other categories for like art direction and sound design. People who are going to be successful online video creators and people who are going to  make a living are not going to have sound designers. Because they're not going to be able to afford sound designers because they're going to be taking the money and buying groceries with it.

(4:24) Now that's not going to be the case for everyone because there are going to be big projects that have big followings that began with people talking to the camera. It's going to be Waverly Johnston and Kevin Wu and Philip DeFranco who are going to start show and they're going to be successful but they are going to have started as vlogs, because that is the interaction that people find interesting. That is why Shanaynay is interesting, that is why Lonely Girl was interesting, that is why Dr. Horrible was interesting because you're having this personal "I'm making my thing on the internet."Not someone who's following me around with a camera and videotaping me.

(5:03) I wish for everyone's sake that it had gone better and there had not been as many technical glitches, and so on. I think it's really great to honor people, but to be honest I think it's too early in this medium's creation to have an awards show. 

(5:15) I don't think we are important enough yet. I think we'll get there. The fact that the Streamys was so full of self-deprecating humor was a reflection of that. I think that people are thinking, why are we taking this so seriously? Why aren't we just having a good time.

(5:32) And that's what the Streamys, if it's going to be successful needs to be about. It needs to be about being silly, having a good time, and being like a group of people who are doing the same things, who like each other, who are interested in what each other are doing, recognizing each other and saying thanks for making great content. It can't be about anything besides that. Because if it takes itself anymore seriously than that then it's a farce. 

(5:57) I'm really glad that we don't have to take ourselves seriously. That's one of the principle tenants of VidCon. It's not about taking yourself seriously. It's about having a really great time and creating an opportunity to people to throw ideas up in the air and watch them rain down upon every one else.

(6:14) That is what I love about online video, that is what I love about new media. Because it's so new that you can just BAAAA! And it just falls and it hits people, you know. It's new. Screw it all! This is vlogging baby! I'll see everyone tomorrow.