Introducing...The Video Blog

By Keith Boykin, in pop culture
Monday, March 12 2007, 11:10AM

In the beginning there was the blog, and the blog was good and people liked it. And then came the audio blog, and it was good and people liked it too. And of course, there was also the podcast, which is a cousin of the audio blog, which took the whole blogging thing away from the computer. And soon the audio blog begat the video blog. Okay, the video blog is not completely new, but my friend Ben Patrick Johnson is taking it to a whole 'nother level.

A few weeks ago I was out in Los Angeles and had a chance to visit Ben's new studio, where he was planning to produce a new video broadcast over the Internet. Even walking around the impressive studio I did not grasp the full significance of this new technology. In just one week, Ben has been video blogging about everything from his relationship to politics. And in today's episode he interviews his first guest, Marcellas Reynolds, the black gay reality TV star from "Big Brother" fame.

What's great about blogging, and video blogging as well, is that it provides a forum for viewpoints and personalities that are often excluded from the traditional news media. In today's episode of Ben's blog, for example, he talks to Marcellas Reynolds about whether reality shows are staged. Marcellas reveals that they are. "Big Brother" and "The Apprentice" are more game shows than reality shows," he says. The network and the producers are "invested" in who they want to win, he adds, and he talks about the different techniques that reality show producers use to steer the contest toward the person they would like to win.

Video blogs also offer a forum for new media personalities to develop outside the mainstream media filter. For women, people of color, and gays and lesbians, it may be a way to get a foot in the door. That's what Ben seems to be doing.

If you don't know Ben Patrick Johnson, chances are you've heard his voice before. He's a popular voice-over actor who has done audio lines for some of your favorite movies and television shows. He looks nothing like his voice though. If you've seen the voice-over actor from the Geico commercial, then you know that Ben is much different. His authoritative voice doesn't exactly match his youthful appearance.

But Ben is onto something here with the video blog. It used to be that only the TV networks could produce daily video broadcasts. But now thanks to the Internet, and the culture of Internet news dependence, the market is more decentralized and democratized. You still have to buy a camera and edit the video, but even amateurs can edit video with a basic Mac or a good PC with Windows Movie Maker. It may not look like the NBC Nightly News, but it's likely to be more relevant than that broadcast. The explosion of popularity of blogs and YouTube attest to the importance of these new media.

Whatever happens, Ben's new video blog seems to be a sign of things to come. Pretty soon the big networks won't be the only ones controlling the video news we get.

Ben's video blog, "Life On The Left Coast," is available on Myspace, YouTube and ITunes.

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