If you've read my blog post from a couple of weeks ago, you'll know that I'm in the midst of figuring out how to create a vlog for a deadline of December 31st, 2021. Unfortunately, I still haven't finished reading 27 Essential Principles of Story, so I read a cliff notes version for now. Luckily, Ali Abdaal posted a video on how he uses Notion, a notetaking software, for his creative process. This has been immensely helpful in thinking through the video development process.

However, as I brainstormed video ideas, I still found myself trying to go big or go home with some grandiose vlog titled "The First and Last Vlog of 2021." In my head, it would be a magical story of my year in 2021 that would be absolutely perfect. In reality, I didn't have the knowledge or skills to make this video come to life. I felt the procrastination creeping in. As soon as I realized what I was doing, I slapped myself a few times and reminded myself that the goal of my vlog was to learn how to create better videos.

I told myself, "The videos will get better over time. Don't try to make this first one rocket science because it's probably going to be crap."

What is the Value of a Vlog?

Having saved myself from falling into a pit of procrastination, I decided to start small. My first vlog will be an unboxing and first test of the espresso machine my husband and I bought. Now that I had an idea, I needed to write the script, for which I turned to Ali's "New Video Template" for Notion.

The template was helpful. However, when it came to script-writing, I was stumped. For context, Ali's script template is broken into four sections: Hook, Intro, Value, and End Screen Sales Pitch. The first two concepts are pretty straightforward, but I couldn't understand what he meant by value. When I tried to reference the example he gave, I realized that the difference between his content and mine is that he provided more "tangible" value by showing people how he uses Notion. And, therefore, ideas for how people could use Notion themselves. Generally speaking, a vlog has less "tangible" value and relies more on entertainment value.

What is entertainment value? Honestly, I had no idea, so I Googled it.

After scrolling past a couple of sites that only provided me with a definition of the term, I found an article by Ravi Mehta that broke down entertainment value into two components: Social Value + Production Value. But what does this mean?

Ravi defines social value as the level of personal connection the viewer has with the content. This connection can stem from multiple places. Perhaps the video in question is on a topic you're interested in, such as indoor rock climbing. Or maybe your friend found a funny video and shared a link of it with you via text. Or perhaps the creator of the video is someone you know or have some connection with (in real life, or not). All of these strings might draw you into initially clicking on a video because, to you, it has social value.

Production Value

In contrast, production value is defined as the quality of content relative to the highest quality in the genre. This is the "objective" quality of a video. While important, it isn't necessarily all about aesthetics, such as the video resolution or fancy effects. It's also about the quality of the content in a video. Is the topic of the video told in an interesting way? Is the video editing done well? Is it evident that the video was thoughtfully made? These aspects make for an enjoyable viewing experience that makes you want to keep watching.

What is the Value of My Story?

With these concepts in mind, I began to question the value of my vlog on this espresso machine. In terms of social value, I don't have an audience, so the only person who will care about the creator (me) is probably my mom. However, there might be someone out there looking to buy the same espresso machine and to make a more informed decision. Of course, my vlog won't be an in-depth review of the product, but that can be a point of connection for a viewer. As for production value, this goes back to compelling storytelling and refining my video production skills - something for me to work on overtime.

My biggest take-away from this is that there might not be many people interested in my vlog or this specific espresso machine. And my production value at this point probably isn't going to be great. But for those interested in my life and this machine, it may provide some entertainment value.

So all I can do is try my best at improving the production value. And that's ok with me.