These days, I often run into the opinion that "people just don't have time to read stuff anymore." Or they don't feel inclined to read stuff anymore.
Along those same lines, I see more and more video content. Sometimes it makes me wonder whether it's just a complete waste of time to keep writing, but then I think about my own personal content consumption habits as well... and I far prefer the written word over watching a video.
While recording a video might be easier on some level, I just find that I can consume written content far faster than audio and video content. And when I'm doing this, enough time is invariably of the essence and it's more important that I can consume vast quantities of content than just sit and watch something, especially if it's just someone rambling aimlessly for several minutes before making a point.
Besides, does video really save time for the creator? I would say sometimes, but if you're going to do a properly produced video podcast that looks good, and is pieced together and edited appropriately it actually takes more time to do video content than to do written content.
Besides, I see written content as being a great "equalizer" in the sense that I keep thinking about that old semi humorous saying somebody "has a great face for radio" coming into play. Lot of people just don't present well in video — and they are certainly not IG models — as such their chances of getting any kind of viewership might be far below their chances of gaining a following through the written word.
Of course, some of this may also be a generational issue. People in their teens and twenties are probably far more likely to consume video content than written content while those from older generations might lean more towards written content. That would be me. I grew up learning speedreading, which is like consuming a video playing at 600% speed and still getting everything.
I'm also well aware of that there are lots of people who just don't like writing. Thus they find it easier to express themselves by talking to a camera than actually trying to write out their ideas. For me, it's the exact opposite: when I'm writing I can actually use the backspace key and can go back and rewrite sentences and entire ideas to where they feel "just right," while sitting in front of a camera makes me kind of nervous and clumsy and it doesn't come across nearly as well as I thought it would.
Which, I suppose leads us to the inevitable conclusion that this is ultimately a case of "to each their own." However, in the interest of creating content that has at least a semlance of evergreen nature, I still have to consider who the audience is not just whether it's convenient for me.
I ended up writing this after being asked why I don't have a YouTube channel. It's unlikely I would, unless it was just a still camera of me typing!
What about you? Writing or video?
Feel free to leave a comment — this IS "social" media, after all!
As always, a 10% 