Hybrid Blog Encourages Submission of Video Comments

WebKnowHow
Thursday, February 22, 2007; 05:19 AM

A new web site has combined the best features of a regular blog with that of a video blog to create what they are terming a "hyblog."

"We wanted something a bit different for our site, www.ravelbabel.com," said webmaster Jake Lowrey, "and after a bit of brainstorming we came up with the 'hyblog' idea."

While not the first to use the term hyblog, Lowrey believes his site is the first to be a true hybrid blog by encouraging the submission of video comments.

"We are not a video blog site, but rather more of a hybrid; part regular blog, part video blog. A hyblog, if you will," he said.

Lowrey said the popularity of video hosting sites helped give his team the concept of offering a place for people to leave video comments.

"From the success of these video hosting sites, it appears there are a lot of wannabe film makers out there," he said. "What about those who aspire to be TV pundits? Well, now they have a place to practice their craft.

"And it's a great place for those who just want to voice their opinions either through video or the written word," he said.

Like a regular blog, RavelBabel features commentary on current news stories and opinions in today's media through standard written posts and RSS feeds, Lowrey said. It's like a video blog in that the site also features video commentary.

"The hybrid part is that we allow viewers to upload video comments," he said.

Painless Process
The process of adding video comments to RavelBabel is virtually painless, Lowrey said.

"If you want to add a video comment, all you have to do is record it, save it and upload it to our server," he said. "Our team of highly trained editors will review it to make sure it meets our guidelines, then post it on the appropriate page. Our goal is a turnaround of 24 hours, but in most cases it is a lot shorter than that."

Comments uploaded on the weekends will be reviewed and uploaded on the following Monday.

"It seems the Video Comments Editors union has a strict rule against working on weekends," Lowrey said, "but we're negotiating with them on an ongoing basis and hope to have an agreement in the coming days."

No Such Thing as 'Silent Majority'
"There is no longer a silent majority," Lowrey said. "The Internet is today's great equalizer, where you can state your opinion and have it read -- or viewed -- by potentially millions of people throughout the world. Now that is truly empowerment."

He added, "Human nature being what it is, we all want to leave our mark on the world in some way. By allowing people to add their comments in video form, we give people an alternative venue to do just that."

About the Webmaster: Jake Lowrey has more than 30 years experience in the communications field, having served at various times as a news writer and editor, public relations and marketing director of a major hospital system, and media consultant. He is extremely opinionated and doesn't shy away from sharing his views at any time with anyone having the misfortune to cross his path.