Which is better for audience engagement: video or text?

tl;dr: I'm learning towards video despite the fact that most of my output has been text based.

I’ve been somewhat reluctant to admit to myself that video is a better way to engage with an audience than text. In part because I’m comfortable and confident when it comes to writing as I have run my own blog for 8 years and over that time I've probably written more than a million words since I started writing (including PhD, MSc, MPhys, BSc theses; two novels; numerous shorts; and a multitude of blog posts).

Text vs Video: eloquency vs revenue?

Writing, for me, is fairly easy and I tend to write then edit a couple of times before posting. I refine my ideas with each edit until I reach a desired level of eloquency then post it (I still make mistakes though ;-) ).

Audience engagement via text is tough and earning revenue is even tougher. With video I think engagement should be easier and consequently earning revenue is easier too. Talking into a camera should be easy; editing is probably a pain, but why it is also possible to re-shoot. Video is also easier to digest than reading; just as watching TV is easier than reading a book.

I’ve seen many channels with questionable content, either because the people misunderstand a topic or because they are too lazy to go into any depth, yet they have somehow earned a following and subsequently revenue. I struggle to understand why audiences would be follow someone with limited understanding of a topic, but perhaps it is a case of the audience’s understanding being even less? Provided the content is easy to digest then there is no complaints of technical inaccuracies?

I don't think I would fail on accuracy but would need to work on presentation (despite having a lot of practice with academic presentations). The more I think on it the more I realise that I probably should have started a video channel years ago. Part of the reason for avoiding video is that I didn't have the confidence and because I couldn’t think of a good theme. I prefer channels that have a direction and a purpose. Many youtubers who covered gaming have done well: they had a clear direction, purpose, and more importantly a likeable personality.

Steemit vs traditional blogging

I now host and manage my own blogs on my own server (well, it’s in the cloud :-) ), but building an audience in the traditional way is tough: you have no idea how many people have really read your articles. The ‘read’ counter could perhaps just be bots and it is rare that decent comments are ever posted. I’ve had one exception to that which is a piece I wrote on the similarity between Scottish and Scandinavian language (Updated version). That’s one piece in 8 years that’s had decent engagement with.

There have been a few other pieces but the level of readership and commenting was minimal.

Earning revenue is even tougher. I dislike adverts that spam the reader which made me reluctant to any. I did experiment but didn’t earn much revenue so eventually removed them when I switched the hosting to my own server.

Steemit ain’t perfect by any means but I do like that it is possible to receive a payout from writing. Yay! Finally, some revenue. I can also engage with a target audience that I’m keen to have engagement with: those who follow blockchain.

For now I am trying to maintain both Steemit and traditional blog posting. Some times I really like to edit my content even years after I’ve written it. ;-)

YouTube vs Decentralised alternatives

Ok. I’m out of my depth here.

I know there are decentralised alternatives. I’ve heard of Dtube, but haven’t looked at it. Apparently it uses IPFS for file storage which is cool, but there are some catches to be aware of. Read more: Introducing DTube: a decentralized video platform using STEEM and IPFS

If I do a channel on either Dtube or YouTube I’m likely to make it about blockchain. Although let's see. Would love to hear thoughts comparing both platforms.

2018 Challenge

My challenge that I issue to myself for 2018 is to create some video posts. Call it a resolution if you like. Ideally I would figure out some branding and create an overlay in advance of publishing any videos.

Watch this space -----> <-----
;-)