Bloggingheads.tv: Difference between revisions

Most of the discussions posted to Bloggingheads.tv involve well known (or semi-well known) [[journalist]]s, [[blog]]gers, [[science writer]]s, [[scientist]]s, [[philosopher]]s, book [[author]]s, or other specialists in segments of current world events. Many of the discussions are of a [[political]] nature or are related to the current political environment. Those with differing points of view are often matched against one another.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/04/arts/04kaus.html | work=The New York Times | title=Watching Rigorous Talk on a He Said, He Said Blog | first=Ginia | last=Bellafante | date=2006-05-04 | accessdate=2010-04-26}}</ref> Diavlogs involving guests appearing for the first time often take the form of an [[interview]], more often than that of a discussion, with a longtime Bloggingheads contributor playing the role of interviewer.

 

Although most episodes and matchups do not occur on any kind of a regular basis, there are a few notable exceptions to this. There is a frequent (previously [[biweekly]] and weekly, but now less frequent) diavlog matchup between the two co-founders of Bloggingheads.tv, Robert Wright and Mickey Kaus, generally related to politics in some form, that usually occurs on either Wednesday or Thursday. While some of the other diavloggers are frequently matched against each other (e.g. [[David Corn]] & [[James Pinkerton]]) there is usually not a regularly scheduled time at which they take place.

 

In 2008, several new segments and diavloggers were added or made more regular, including "Free Will", "This Week in Blog", and "UN Plaza". Other updates and tweaks to the site, such as the addition of the MP4 video format were also gradually phased in.

 

Traditional media outlets, such at ''[[The New York Times]]''<ref name=autogenerated1 /> and others,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nysun.com/article/43354?page_no=1 |title=Two Bloggers Set Up a Web Site To Go Head to Head - November 13, 2006 - The New York Sun |publisher=Nysun.com |date= |accessdate=2009-03-11}}</ref> have written mostly favorable reviews of Bloggingheads.tv. Stories are also often written about individuals who take part in the video discussions,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2007/10/09/CampusNews/Econ-Prof.Loury.Takes.On.The.Blogosphere-3020677.shtml |title=Econ prof Loury takes on the blogosphere - Campus News |publisher=Media.www.browndailyherald.com |date= |accessdate=2009-03-11 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404113516/http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2007/10/09/CampusNews/Econ-Prof.Loury.Takes.On.The.Blogosphere-3020677.shtml |archivedate=2009-04-04 |df= }}</ref> as they are often well known individuals in the scientific, academic, journalism, or blogosphere community.

 

==Site terms, features, and technology==

 

The term "diavlog" (sometimes written "dia-vlog" by some bloggers<ref>[http://teaching.jensimmons.com/videoblogging/games/diavlog/ ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007224543/http://teaching.jensimmons.com/videoblogging/games/diavlog/ |date=October 7, 2007 }}</ref>) means a type of [[video blog]] (or "vlog") generally in which two [[people]] participate, as contrasted with a (mono)vlog in which one contributor is featured. The word "diavlog" is a [[portmanteau]] of the phrase "dialog video weblog" (or, alternately, "video weblog dialog"). The diavlog format is most popular for [[political]], world events, or other types of conversational video [[blog]] discussions in which two (or more) people are actively participating in a real-time, give-and-take discussion of ideas.

 

The term is sometimes spelled "diavlogue" by those outside the United States.<ref>http://www.google.com/search?q=diavlogue+-diablogue&btnG=Search</ref> (see: [[American and British English spelling differences]])

 

[[Image:Dinkalink.png|right|thumb|200px|Button used to direct link to a relevant part of the video or to embed video in another website.]]

Dingalink is a direct link to a specific place in a video. (a beginning time and an end time) Dingalinks have the ability for users to direct viewers directly to a relevant part of a video, without the viewer having to watch the video in its entirety. They are used with [[video blog]]s when others who write [[blog]]s, articles, [[email]]s, etc., have the aim of discussing only one segment of an entire video post. The term was named after Bloggingheads.tv's technical advisor Greg Dingle, who initially developed the technology.

Embedding of video is a feature that was added to Bloggingheads.tv in 2008 as a consequence of converting to [[Flash Video]]. It allows for bloggers and other websites to embed the video player into their blog or website so that the content can be viewed locally instead of the need to visit the actual Bloggingheads.tv site. This feature is similar to the [[YouTube#Content accessibility|YouTube]] and [[Google Video#External embedding of Google Video files|Google Video]] (among others) feature which had previously become prevalent on the internet.

 

[[Image:Bloggingheads Moose comparison.png|right|thumb|Wright and Kaus compare stuffed [[moose]] visual aids.]]

Due to the fairly limited medium of using [[webcam]]s to record the video used in the Bloggingheads.tv episodes, a variety of visual aids and enhancements are sometimes added to the program by the participants. Generally this takes the form of holding up [[book]]s, [[newspaper]]s, or other objects that are being discussed to the camera, but sometimes it involves other, more exotic, items to either enhance a point or add something to the diavlog.