Hot Vlogs

Ok, so I know what you are thinking. Amanda, where are the videos!?! Well, turns out, your friend Amanda is a shit editor. But I do love writing, so I’m kinda turning this into a blog. Not saying I won’t post videos ever again, maybe I’ll put up some unedited footage now and again… but I’m not going to force myself to only post videos on this blog, otherwise, I’ll just never update it ;)

I am just loving videoblogs more and more these days... which ones you ask?

There is one videoblog that I never fail to miss an episode of... it's just that amazing. It's called The Richard Show. It's this vlog about a cute, funny guy named Richard, his lovely wife, Maureen (who he jokingly refers to as "Richard's Wife"), and their life in the Ozarks. Last night it finally dawned on me what it was I like most about their show. They have the ultimate love story! Not the Hollywood love story, but true love. And guess what? True love isn't boring. Their love is much more interesting to me than anything I've ever seen on TV or in the movies. That's the best part.

Another videoblog I stumbled across in the last few days is this sweet show called Help My Patients. The idea is that there is this psychiatrist who has totally given up on his patients, because they are utterly helpless. He has videotaped their sessions and posts them so the viewers can suggest how to treat them. It’s fiction, of course. It comes from the same people who make BathTubYoga, which isn't really my taste (although I did appreciate their 4th episode), but this new show is simply brilliant. Hilarious premise, nice execution. I am totally hooked. Maybe my obsession with Dr. Katz makes me somewhat biased, but still. My favorite patient is Gary who comes in to the office every Friday. Yay for quality videoblog shows coming down the pipeline!

Lastly, if you haven't heard of TikiBarTV I don't know what kind of rock you've been living under, but check it out. I just LOOOOOOOOOOOVE Dr. Tiki--so funny, especially the eyebrow moves--and Johnny, Johnny’s rapid fire changes in topic and neck snaps (I can’t help but wonder if they speed him up in editing?) can’t be beat. Oh, and his little hat—hot! Lala is just, well, captivating... and not just because she's a babe (which is undeniable) but also because she's just … contagious. I think it's that Cameron Diaz laugh. ;)

Fan Email

I get a lot of awesome emails from Rocketboom fans from around the world. I've decided I shouldn't keep them all to myself, but instead, share them. So, I'm going to start posting any email I receive that really strikes me in some way. First up, a letter from Alexis:

Dear Amanda,

My name is Alexis. I am six and a half years old. My dad and I love your shows. We watch them everyday. My favorite one is the one when you're dancing on RocketBoom's one year old birthday. I love it because it is funny.

This is a picture of me in Disney World with my face and lips painted and a picture of me holding a toy snake.

Alexis


And here is the picture Alexis sent along of herself:

Yahoos

Wow, a lot of drama going on at the yahoo videoblogging group this weekend. Andrew and Michael Verdi seem to be having a bit of a showdown.

If people really knew Andrew, they would know he would never say "I think personal videobloggers are valuable" if he didn't mean it. It's not just something he uses to buffer whatever statement he makes next. He truly believes it. As do I. He likes to critique and discuss and push the envelope and sometimes those discussions turn heated and ugly. That's too bad, because it clouds his true intent.

It's not a secret that both Andrew and I happen to prefer shows. That's just our taste. That's why we say we'd love to see more of them. There is a difference between what you consider valuable and valid and what you prefer. We recognize, respect, and watch the vlogs of personal videobloggers.

What is sad is that not everyone in this community can give us the same respect in return. Even if you don't like us, which is totally fine, just let us do our thing. I don't get why, for whatever reason, there are people on the yahoo list (a small group of people, but an agressive bunch) that have attacked us from Day 1. We came into the group like any other two people new to vlogging, asking for advice and support and we got downright verbally abused by 3-4 of the list's loudest citizens.

My only wish is for us all to be able to exist in harmony. Why is that so hard? There are infinite possibilities for vlogs and aren't we lucky that the internet can house them all?

Last May I was quoted in this AP Article as saying: "We wanted to have a creative video blog that would be palatable. A lot of the video blogs out there are by someone in their bedroom, half-awake. Mainstream America is not gonna want to watch that. We wanted to get people watching stuff online, to get people interested in this new medium."

I standby this statement. I do not believe that most personal vloggers will ever have a large mainstream (mainstream meaning people who don't blog, podcast, videoblog) audience. Maybe it's possible, one day, and I would hope for that, but I don't see it as likely. This DOES NOT mean I believe everyone wants a large audience. That's clearly not the case. And it does not mean I think that everyone should do what we are doing with Rocketboom.

Below is my original post from the Yahoo Videoblogging list archives regarding the "palatable" quote:

I don't expect mainstream america to be interested in Amanda UnBoomed,
at least not right now. I'm not convinced that most of America is
interested in that kind of content-- yet. Amanda UnBoomed is my
project that I work on whenever I have time and for my own amusement.

Like Josh said, the audiences for Amanda UnBoomed and Rocketboom are
obviously very different. You are talking about two very different
things. UnBoomed is niche (mainly my viewers are other videobloggers
and my friends and family), while Rocketboom is more mainstream.

I think personal videoblogs are interesting, Ryan, including yours.
But I do feel that mainstream (mainstream meaning people who are not
involved with all these new forms of expression: blogs, podcasts,
vlogs) folks have a difficult time wrapping their heads around
personal videoblogs-- at least at this early point in this medium's
existence. My hope is that this will change.

Rocketboom can help to facilitate that change by bridging the gap
between TV and videoblogs. It's a starting point for a lot of people
when they first try to get into this medium. And it's a format that
they are familiar with because of TV. My hope with Rocketboom is
that when people new to videoblogging watch it, it will inspire them
to watch all types of other videoblogs. I want people other than
bloggers, podcasters, and other videobloggers to watch videoblogs.

Good Times

Just got home from shooting Monday's episode of Rocketboom... after a long absence, camera 2 is back! Yipee!

Anyway, I wanted to post this fun picture Mario took of me and my friends this past Friday before a night out.

The Fantastic Four from left to right are: Martha, Sara, Saima, and me.