Compared to the big screen, online media has become a part of people’s daily routine. I like to watch videos on my phone or iPad, which is a more casual and timely way. As a result, video apps like Youtube and Vimeo can be considered as the main carrier of online media, and all the users are media producers. Based on my interest, I take makeup vlogger as example of online media project to explain the characteristics we discussed in class.

The ‘vlog’ concept comes up with the rise of online video websites, which develop into apps on smartphone. Different to web series, ‘vlog’ is a more modern and ‘internet only’ concept because of its unregulated length and content.

Here are some popular contents of beauty vlog:

  • Shopping Haul
  • Makeup Tutorials
  • Monthly Favourite Sharing
  • Lipstick Swatches
  • New Product Testing
  • Outfits Sharing

Here are some screen shots of the playlists from beauty Youtubers I followed on Youtube:

The first problem that beauty vlog cannot be played on traditional screen is that different contents decide the length of videos. Oppositely, this characteristic is perfect for online media that people can choose the length of video to fulfil their spare time. For example, sometimes I like to watch a five-minute new lipsticks swatch when I brush my teeth, which is an exciting start for school day. Also, the frequency of uploading videos is not fixed. Famous makeup vloggers can sometimes get the testers from cosmetic companies before the product officially released, and they are asked by companies to shoot videos of these new products. The uploading time of these kind of videos are fully based on the releasing time of products. Audiences want to watch videos as their shopping suggestion, and companies need the influences of vloggers to advertise their products, which both requires the timeliness characteristic of internet.

For me, choosing to follow a makeup vlogger is very different to picking a TV series. As it is mentioned in class, makeup vlogger is a new ‘job’ that begin with personal interest. Most of them are amateurs who love makeup and want to share the experiences. Online media platform provides the chance for all the amateurs to become influencers, but it is much more difficult to achieve in the traditional media industry. In my opinion, vloggers attract fans not only because of the content, but also their personal styles. I have subscribed nine makeup vloggers on Youtube, and most of their videos are shot at home, using their own video cameras, and editing by themselves. The independent production mode has less limitation on the one hand, but brings more attention to the vloggers themselves on the other. The cosmetic products are fixed, so how vloggers do the makeup and how they talk in the videos become the determining factors of attracting fans. In general, a Youtuber may have a group of loyal audiences who like to watch every video made by him/her and support him/her to continue posting videos.

The most common and useful function of online media is comment, and it works so effectively in makeup tutorial videos. Firstly, comments and likes may become the motivation for vloggers. Some makeup Youtubers often say at the end of the video, “I just received/bought these products, leave comments to let me know if you want to watch a video about them”. This is an ‘online’ phenomenon  that viewers’ opinions can affect or even decide the contents. Secondly, for an educational video, it is important to know and answer the questions from audiences, and internet does the job very well. Youtube comment is open to everyone who click into the video, so they can share and discuss easily through this online video platform.