In my post on adding video to boost your blog traffic and income, I said that video is the future of blogging. I was asked by a reader to explain why I felt this way. I can pin it down to the following six reasons.
Video Is More Interactive
Video is more interactive and can hold a person’s attention better than written words. Some things are very hard to describe without the aid of videos. Imagine trying to teach someone how to build a computer using words only. It’s pretty hard. However, it’s pretty simple to show how a computer is put together using a video.
Video allows the blogger to let his readers know him better. The written word cannot express what the blogger’s voice sounds like. It can’t show facial expressions. Most importantly, it cannot show the same level of passion the way a video can. Video help create a better bond between a blogger and his readers.
Mass High Speed Internet Usage
Most people have high speed Internet access. I personally don’t know anyone who is still on dial-up. High speed Internet has made it possible for large video files to be streamed onto the computer screen. Unless you’re behind China’s great firewall, you should be able to view most any video without any hiccups.
The Internet getting faster will mean ever improving video quality. Right now, the quality of YouTube videos are pretty bad. However, as the Internet speeds up and better compression systems are developed, we’ll be able to stream Hi-Def video content in the near future.
Rise of Mobile Devices
Does anyone actually read blogs from their iPhone? I’m sure it can be done but it’s not a fun experience. However, watching a video on an iPhone, or another mobile device, provides a much better user experience. With 3G just around the corner, you can expect video viewing on mobile devices to continue to rise.
As a money making blogger, you have to keep an eye on the market to see where it’s headed. The next Internet isn’t on the desktop. If you stay there, you’ll be left behind.
Low Cost of Entry
I already touched on this is my original post. It cost next to nothing to add videos to your blog. If you have a digital camera (and who doesn’t?), chances are you can add videos right now. You don’t need Adobe Premier or a Canon XL Hi-Def digital camcorder to produce great video content. Some of the best videos I’ve seen were produced using the inexpensive Flip Video camera.
Having said that, keep in mind that the future of video on the Net is Hi-Def. If you’re in the market for a new digital camcorder and have some money to spend, you should consider getting the HD model.
More and More Search Results Include Videos
Search engines like Google now have the power to spider video content and include them in the search engine results page. You’re going to be seeing more and more video results when you do searches. If you’re not doing videos, you could be losing out on a large number of searches.
People Are Lazy
People in general are lazy. They want everything done for them and don’t want to put forth any effort to do things themselves. If this was not the case, most of America would be bloody rich instead of barely scraping by.
It takes more effort to read than it does to watch a video. This is why TV news is bigger than the newspaper. Most people would rather sit on the lazyboy and watch the news instead of read about it. You want your blog to target a big a market as possible and the market for lazy people is huge! 
The Internet favors the early adopters and people who get in first. Video blogging on the Internet is still pretty much in its infancy. Technorati says there’s over 120,000 new blogs started every day. Most won’t have videos. Adding video to your blog is a great way to stand out from a very crowded blogsphere.