I Started a Vlog.

The internet is a strange, strange place filled with (more often than not) strange, strange people. Sometimes it takes an eighty-seven-year-old grandmother to make you realize just how curious the world wide web is. While I was home over break, my feisty grandmother demanded that I look her up on this website called “Pipl.” What? My grandma had heard of a website I hadn’t? I summoned what was left of my pride and did as she asked. She gasped in horror as she read how much of her personal information was on the internet for anyone to see. Pipl had a list of her relations, an address and a photo of her home, and her home phone number listed.

Sometimes I forget how difficult it must be for the Silent Generation to deal with living in a technology-driven world. My grandma starting using email within the past few years, and she still never gets on the internet. She just sees no need. And I don’t blame her. She’s probably the only person I know who doesn’t want any personal information on the internet.

In fact, most people now opt to have personal information on the internet. They leave bits and pieces of themselves everywhere. Hairs on Facebook, germs on Twitter, skin cells on Pinterest, lingering smells on YouTube, and whatever’s left on blogs. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. Quite the opposite. I love the internet because it gives you the opportunity to express yourself in so many different ways.

I, like many others, have an account on just about every popular social site on the internet. It wasn’t until the New Year that I decided to tackle something I’d never done on the internet before. I started a vlog. If the word makes you cringe, trust me, I’ve been there. Who wants to sit in front of a webcam/camera and yammer on about themselves and their terribly mundane life? Apparently I do. Well, not really. I like the idea of having a vlog because if you’re successful you can start a dialogue with the people who subscribe to you. Yeah, you might feel like a loser for the first few weeks (Months? Years?) you don’t have any subscribers, but you can always do what I did and force a friend to subscribe to your channel.

What I hope to get out of a vlog is what I haven’t gotten out of a blog. I hope to show imperfections, to connect with people over trivial matters, and to engage an audience. I’ll admit it’s fun editing video and audio too.

I encourage you, whether you’re eighty-seven or seventeen, to venture out into the peculiar world of the internet. Do something you haven’t done before. Surprise yourself. Express yourself. The internet is probably one of the best, least embarrassing places to do it. What do you have to lose?

p.s. If you're interested in checking out my vlog, it's youtube.com/straycatinmyhat.