October 26, 2021 - Reading time: 5 minutes

Video Blogging: What Is It and How to Start?

In our childhood, everyone wanted to be a movie star or a fireman. Today, the focus shifted, and some kids still want to act in blockbusters or save lives, but many of them dream about a career in video blogging.

Becoming a famousYouTube or Instagram personality is a nice goal, but like in any career, it takes skills, understanding the profession's core, and what you need to do to become successful here.

Today we will unveil some of the mysteries behind becoming a video blogger, what equipment you need to have for it, and how you can find your niche. Without further ado, let's get started.

What Is Video Blogging, and Why Do You Choose It?

So, to make things clear, first of all, we should talk about what video blogging is and why you need to create a video blog and even try to achieve success here.

A video blogger is a person who creates video content, uploads it on one or a couple of platforms for their followers to watch. Content can be free like on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok, or paid like on Patreon.

A person can become a video blogger if they have a creative vision, love to share content, and are ready to explore this unstable yet exciting profession.

Types of Blog Videos

Video content can be very different. For example, YouTube bloggers will probably make longer videos to get monetization, and it will be deeper and better-edited videos than if we talk about TikTok bloggers. People on TikTok are limited to 60-second videos, so they need to be more creative to attract people to their channels.

As for the type of yourvlog, it can be pretty much anything. For example:

1. Day-to-day life. Many people on the internet vlog about their lives daily, especially if they have an interesting occupation, like a stewardess, or are trying to make it in the family channel niche.
2. Skits and comedy content. This is a more creative type of video that takes script actors and some experience as a video editor to perform well.
3. Storytimes. This type includes true crime stories, life stories, different interviews, QnA's, etc.
4. Travel content. The name speaks for itself!
5. ASMR. Soothing content when a person makes sounds, noises, or talks in a very peaceful manner to help you relax.
6. Challenges. This includes everything from ice bucket challenges to fitness journeys.
7. Informative and educational content. This includes webinars, how-tos, lectures, cooking videos, presentations, fitness programs, and any other kind of content that was created to teach you something.
8. Reviews. Here we can add everything from tech to makeup. These videos are simply reviews on a wide variety of products.

Popular Niches in 2021

The trend is a dynamic and fluctuating substance. What is on top today can be absolutely irrelevant next week. So take this list of thepopular niches in video blogging with a grain of salt, and always do additionalYouTube SEO research before choosing your niche.

In general, in 2021, the most popular niches are:

1. Tech videos. These YouTube videos are very on-trend right now because we can't afford to spend hard-earned money on crappy electronics. Thanks to tech bloggers, we don't need to anymore.
2. Makeup, fashion, and lifestyle. The beauty and self-care industry is on the rise right now because even when everything's bad, we still want to look good!
3. Tutorials and how-tos. When most of us are in a difficult position due to the pandemic, educational videos can be lifesaving when you need to fix or make something yourself.
4. Food. Everybody just loves eating and watching the food preparation process!
5. Fitness and weight loss. If you can advise on weight loss, your channel can become a huge success when gyms are closed, and doctors are too busy with CoVID patients.
6. True crimes. People love storytimes, and in recent years true crime has become the audience's favorite topic. The trend does not seem to go away, so it is your time if you love true crime too.
7. Your real passion. If you have something you really love, share your passion with others, and your people will come. Even if it is a super-specific niche, make videos about your passion, and it will pay off.

Must-Have Equipment and Software for Video Bloggers

After choosing your niche, you need to equip yourself with propervlogging gear. It is not enough to shoot videos on your phone anymore because even new YouTubers upload really high-quality videos.

Firstly, you need a nice camera, not very expensive, but one that gives a high-quality result. Second, we advise you to buy studio lights, a good microphone and decorate your filming space. You can purchase all these things second-hand to save some money.

Now let's talk about useful apps and software.

1. Screen recorder. It is an absolute must for every streamer, and since today almost every blogger does streams in addition to their regular content, you need it too. With a tool like Screencast, you canrecord streaming video and save it in order to upload it to YouTube later, or justrecord your screen during sessions to rewatch it and see where you can improve.
2. Teleprompter. Thankfully, today we don't need a separate machine to be your prompter. You can download a simple app likeTeleprompterand use it.
3. Awebcam recorder. You can need this tool when you shoot live Q&A with your fans and subscribers. If you have a good enough web camera, you can even shoot "Get Ready with Me" using your webcam recorder.
4. Editing software. You can choose free or pre-paidvideo editing software depending on your skill and finances. It shouldn't be very expensive, but it should have all the features to create high-quality videos.

Conclusion

Becoming a blogger in 2021 can be a tough task. The industry already has its stars, and you need to put a lot of effort into becoming a part of this group.

However, if you choose your niche, get the right equipment, and are passionate about what you are doing, soon enough, you can see anincrease in subscribers and the long-awaited success you've craved for.

Author: Evelina Brown

September 29, 2021 - Reading time: 4 minutes

Burnout is one of the top 3 corporate diseases. How does it look like? Employees experiencing this condition are less productive, more likely to take sick leave, and twice as likely to quit.

The problem of professional burnout was acute even before the pandemic. For example, in 2005 at the WHO European Conference stated that almost one-third of the working population of the European Union is affected by stress at work.

According to the Flexjobs and Mental Health America 2020 survey, 75% of respondents notice they experienced symptoms of burnout. Data from such sociological surveys show the real existence of the problem.

Read more ... [Travel]

September 13, 2021 - Reading time: 2 minutes

In the past, slow evaluation of mathematical functions and large memory footprint were the most significant drawbacks of Java compared to C++/C for numeric computations and scientific data analysis. However, recent enhancements in the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) enabled faster and better numerical computing due to several enhancements in evaluating trigonometric functions.

Read more ... [Programming]

August 25, 2021 - Reading time: ~1 minute

At a cultural moment in which the media is becoming ever more opinionated and centralized - and less trusted to report all the facts - Dr. Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia, is announcing an initiative to decentralize the world’s encyclopedias. A new non-profit aims to promote technical standards and software that will make it easier to find high-quality information and a global range of opinion. Sanger and a group of like-minded technologists incorporated the non-profit Knowledge Standards Foundation (KSF) late last year and have been making preparations to launch a deep-dive seminar / discussion group that will hash out the details. The mostly-volunteer group has started several software projects.

Read more ... [General]