Vlogs, the video-infused offspring of blogs, allow anyone to star in their own television show, from news satire to silly sitcom situations, from political commentary to outright zaniness. There are hundreds of vlogs out there, and more launch every day. Here are some of our favorites:
The Carol and Steve Show: This vlog follows the life of a married couple in Seinfeld-like situations. In this post, Carol and Steve make a bet about who will win in this season's finale of American Idol.
Challenge Ian: Ian is 18-year-old Ian Mills from Keynes, England. His mission is to respond to viewer-suggested physical challenges, although he says the real challenge he's set for himself is to post every day in 2005. In this post, Ian answers three challenges, including "slam your fingers in a door."
Clint Sharp's Blog an' Vlog: Clint Sharp presents thoughts on life, technology, the internet and how they all relate. He produces two vlogs, Clint on Tech, a weekly show on how to do interesting things with technology, and Watch Life Happen, a weekly video diary featuring his wife, Melanie. This post, "Hybridcasting," showcases a cheap, homemade pop filter and a new mixing board for Clint's podcasting.
Crash Test Kitchen: This is the Home Improvement of cooking shows. In this post, our hosts whip up a lovely meal of gnocchi and chicken. They take us through the process like any cooking show would, but they also include hilarious mishaps that we all encounter in the kitchen. After host Warren Murray drops an orange behind the refrigerator, he invents a tool to help him snatch it back up. Their loyal audience lovingly refers to this post as "the one with the orange."
Green Green Water: This vlog documents environmental changes to South Indian Lake in Manitoba, Canada. In this post, displaced residents of South Indian Lake talk about being forced to leave their homes when the local fishing industry was devastated by hydro-development. Some of the posts for this vlog will be compiled into a full-length documentary.
Rocketboom: This is a daily satire news vlog in the style of The Daily Show. In this post from June 28, anchor Amanda Congdon updates us on the situation in Iraq, and opines on Google's new video search tool and the FCC's jurisdiction over the internet.
Secret Vlog Injection: This vlog captures the life of Minnesotan Chuck Olsen in the North Star State. In this post, "Welcome to the Future," Olsen gets busted for taking moving pictures at a rock concert with his mobile phone. He uses the incident as a means to discuss the future of content sharing in an ironic but poignant way.
