That said, the entire video, lasting about an hour, is worth watching, especially if, like me, you're out of the loop about the current state of the OSR blogosphere. I found this very helpful, since I'm no longer as plugged into the Old School scene as I used to be. Much of that is the result of simply falling out of the habit during this blog's hiatus, but some of it is due to a sense, perhaps false, that blogging is no longer as integral to online discussion of RPGs, OSR or otherwise, as it once was. The very fact that I'm discussing a video demonstrates, I think, that the center of gravity has shifted over the last few years toward that medium, leaving blogs and forums, which were once the crucibles of the OSR, lagging behind.
Unless I'm wrong, of course. As I said, I no longer have my finger on the pulse of anything really, including the OSR or its many descendent esthetic movements. It's very possible – likely even – that I am misinterpreting the present situation. From where I'm sitting, though, it seems as if almost everyone has a Youtube channel or a podcast (even I have a podcast, albeit one with a very narrow focus) and that it's on those platforms where the kinds of in-depth analyses and discussions that used to characterize the blogosphere are taking place. That's why I've often considered doing something more seriously with them myself, but the truth is I am probably too old and resistant to change (not mention largely lacking in the technical skills necessary to do this successfully) to make it work, hence my sticking with this blog rather than "upgrading" as others have done.
What are your thoughts on this? Do blogs still have relevance or have they been superseded by videos and podcasts?
My reason for preferring blogs is bad, but it is what it is.
ReplyDeleteI can more easily read blogs than watch videos while I am at work, and when I am at work is when I have the most free time to do so.
I don't know if that says more about me, my workplace, or the world we live in.
Same. If I need a quick work break I can read a blog post. If I watch a video then I need to leave my office and sit it my car.
DeleteBut also I don't love videos. The only time I "watch" them is when I am on my rowing machine and then I am just listening.
I think youtube content pays better thus the shift.
I have the exact opposite issue. My primary job lets me sit and listen to as much media as I want, but my eyes and hands are mostly occupied all the time. So podcasts, audiobooks, and youtube vids with a focus on audio content are my meat, while blogs are reserved for actual leisure time. Typing this on my morning blog check-in before I start work proper.
DeleteI honestly do not know what to say. I personally still really like blogs, but also realize I just might qualify as 'old(-er)'. I also watch video's/podcasts, but *only* if I can watch the people having the conversation in a video as well as listening to the participants. Somehow I just cannot stand 'just listening to the voices' without the visuals, but that may be just me.
ReplyDeleteI prefer blogs. I don't have time to sit and watch a fifteen minute video when I can digest the same information in written form in five minutes. When I do watch blog style videos, I usually have to run them at 1.25x or 1.50x speed. I'm 51 if that matters. Might be a generational thing?
ReplyDeleteWell let me preface my answer with a few caveats. Obviously anyone who even responds to this question is already biased as we are reading it on an OSR blog hah! Plus I imagine a lot of people (like me, for example) are also people who generally pay attention to blogs so that further skews results.
ReplyDeleteWith that out of the way - blogs definitely seem to be a lot less...I dunno, populated than they were before the disintegration of G+. Not as many comments, not as much discussion happening on the actual blog, but usually in a different platform. That's pretty normal and in line with how the internet in general has moved over the past 15+ years.
However people are still blogging, absolutely. There's new blogs and old blogs still being active, people making blogs all the time. I have several blogs that I follow semi-regularly that were started in the past couple of years! So was mine, for that matter!
So yeah, people are still blogging about RPGs and blogs continue to be very much in the heart of the OSR, even if their beat is a bit more subdued than it might have once been.
I almost never watch videos or podcasts because (unlike print) one cannot easily skim through them.
ReplyDeleteYes, plus even when reading carefully, I can usually read faster than a podcast can verbalize the same content.
DeleteBut skimming is probably the most important.
Most vlogs (video blogs) pass me by because I don't have 30 minutes or an hour or more to listen to some content.
Also easier to cut and paste interesting tables or ideas for later use in a blog. I keep an Idea folder on my PC that I drop interesting things into for later integration into my games.
DeleteI love the blogs and I'm still a follower of a few, yours included. I am disappointed that I didn't spot them back in 2008 when the really good ones started to appear after EGG died. It is quite amazing to think of how many words have been written about the content of the few pages which make up OD&D, Holmes, AD&D and BX.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that the squabbles and flamewars that used to be the province of Usenet, forums, and Google+ now appear to happen mostly on Twitter. :)
ReplyDeleteWhich is a good thing, given that I wouldn't go near Twitter if you paid me.
DeleteGreat topic! Blogs are usually better than video because the writing required for blogs compels the presenter to develop and organize his/her thoughts before sharing them. Videos that are scripted can be as good as blogs, for the same reason. Unfortunately, too many presenters try to free form their videos which generates a dithering mish mash that is painful to watch. It’s like the difference between a well-structured news broadcast, which you could actually read without the presenter, and the Jerry Springer show.
ReplyDeleteI consume a lot of youtube content. While this is only anecdotal evidence, the vast majority of what I watch/listen to is scripted, and in many cases feature quite professional production values for what are definitely hobby postings. Perhaps I'm just getting lucky with my random recs, or my taste in subject matter has led to encountering fewer off-the-cuff vids than normal.
DeleteThere are two blogs I follow regularly: yours and the CRPG Addict. I watch videos about games from time to time, but if those folks actually wrote their content out I'd probably choose to read rather than watch.
ReplyDeleteThe exceptions are two Youtube channels that I follow, "Demystifying Chinese Cooking" and "Primitive Technology." The latter, in particular, is an odd combination of fascinating and soporific content by a guy in New Zealand who builds/makes things like brick and tile shelters using no modern technology whatsoever - as in, he didn't have a metal tool until he figured out a way to make iron from clay. The one where he made a small trebuchet is pretty nifty.
I am also old (54) to the extent you are cataloguing responses, but I'm not sure that's why I prefer reading over watching videos.
Reading > watching/listening. It isn't just that I can absorb the information much more quickly by reading. There's also something about reading that is more satisfying.
ReplyDeletePodcasts are good for mindless chores or going for a walk. But in general, I'm really glad there are still a lot of great blogs, including this one.
I think there's a few reasons why its happened.
ReplyDeleteThe first is the last decade saw a huge rise in personal video simply because of the technology. I was thinking of this based on a comment somebody made about a video interview of Gary Gygax. They wondered why there wasn't more video interviews of him. And that got me to thinking. Just before he died was when the first iPhone was released. And only a few years before Youtube was created. It's hard to fathom but it was a lot harder to digitize video from video cameras and put it on the Internet. Now most people with a simple standard of living have full HD video cameras and the ability to publish to the world. The changes that have occurred in the 2010s have been astounding. So the barrier to doing full audio/visual content is trivial now.
I think because of that, we get to the other factors. Laziness. Trying to be non-judgemental here but it is a lot easier to point a camera at yourself and start pontificating than it is to write, edit, and rewrite your work. Sure, there are videos that are more polished and have been edited with the same care as a written work, but that's not typical.
Somebody also mentioned ads -- and yes, that could be a factor. Most blogs don't have ads or very few, but YouTube ads might bring in more revenue. I think the younger generation with the influencer concept has made this more important.
This has mixed effects. Video tends to depend more on viral responses and social media. It's harder to discover videos with Google searches. Blogs are still better for search engine discovery. And I worry that literacy will decline if people get used to just talking instead of writing.
You can see how it changed some bloggers. Two examples are the RPG Pundit and Tenkar's Tavern. If you look at both blogs, the Pundit has pretty much given up on writing and just posts a new video with a short sentence or two and the embedded story. Tenkar moved most of his commentary to YouTube and primary uses the blog now for "plugs", where he plugs a product and provides links. There are loads of examples.
And we also have to remember that blogs can and do die or go on hold for a while. This one went dark for about 10 years, others just stopped publishing as folks got busy. As we get older, our responsibilities shift, or we have new interests eclipsing the old ones.
My biggest concerns about blogs is blogspot. The days seem numbered for blogs like this one, as it appears to be a legacy technology from Google that they don't seem to care about much, and Google has a history of killing products. I suspect one day they'll give people an alert that they will stop supporting blogger and will shut it down in the next few years.
You may want to consider making a migration to another service if you feel your articles are worth preserving.
FWIW, I don't think anyone with a clue watches youtube (or any other site) without adblockers running. It's why you see increasing numbers of semi-pro channels including in-video ad shilling on sponsored vids - although most sane creators make a point of clumping it all so it can still be easily skipped over with a single click.
DeleteI hate this shift to audio/video; whenever I’m listening to a podcast or watching one of these videos, my mind starts to wander, whereas I manage to stay focused when I’m reading a blog. I’m probably too old for this sh*t.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you.
DeleteSame.
DeleteHard agree.
DeleteI'd much rather read a BLOG. I find it very difficult to get through videos- usually because people ramble on/ not very good at what they are doing, or just have a personality/demeanor that makes it difficult for me to watch.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I'm well into my 50s.
ReplyDelete51. I don't watch videos. I just don't. I can do short tiktok -esque things, but 20+ minutes to review a book is just painful.
ReplyDeleteI do think blogs might be...reviving? They definitely slumped, but I'm seeing tickles of light in certain areas.
I'm very much a blog and reading person. I only listen to a couple of podcasts and even those semi-regularly, and have watched less than half a dozen videos related to rpg on YT.
ReplyDeleteAs a video/podcast creator I've always felt a resistance to video by the community at large. You notice most forums/subreddits/discords have blog rolls - but non have video.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I listen to a lot of podcasts passively while doing my 9-5 job, or out on walks. Where as I don't have the screen time to read.
I only read blogs because they are always better written than videos!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for posting a wonderful example of why blogs are also more content-dense that vidoes! ;)
ReplyDeleteI feel like blogs are partly for me, as well as, my audience, the readers. Videos are for the audience only. I've never re-watched one of my older videos, but occasionally re-read past blog posts to see what I was thinking about or tinkering with months or years ago.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's a getting older thing, but I find that the older I get the MORE gaming blogs I follow... this one, Goblin Punch, Throne of Salt, Trilemma Adventures, Coins and Scrolls etc.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it might not be because this is, from the beginning, a, well, if not 'literary' at least printed medium. Even in the modern era, you can't run around a table without at LEAST a pdf, and its easier to share the kinds of information we use (maps, stat blocs etc.) in a printed way. Just a hypothesis, but...
Blogs > Video/Podcast, though all of them have their place.
ReplyDeleteI like blogs more because the medium is text, I can skim mit and see if the article even interests me (possible with video, but awkward), I can better reference it later, I can copy text/tables for my own use.
Video content is usually far longer for the same amount of information.
I also dont consume videos "on the go", e.g. when waiting for a bus.
I consume many podcasts, but I find it to be a pain when there is one very interesting tidbit of information right in the middle of it. When I want to add this to my notes (or share it with someone), I must first find the passage again and then paraphrase it.