Back to the Blog—Do You Have Video Fatigue?

How many videos have you watched this week?

I bet you have no idea. Ten? Fifty? A hundred?

How much do you recall from all the Reels and Tik Toks and other videos you consumed?

Lost in the Flood

Social media sites lately are flooded with videos, or made up entirely of them. We use sites like You Tube to learn how to do practically anything. A Google search for a recipe shows way more videos of people cooking, than actual recipes. And then there’s TikTok, all videos all the time, which has now become a search engine and marketplace on its own.

Not to mention, with the use of Artificial Intelligence-generated videos, you can no longer tell what is real life and what is completely fabricated by a computer.

I’m not here to dis the video medium—it’s obviously here to stay and people are becoming used to it. But just like any other medium or trend, it will reach a saturation point.

Just like blogs did.

Reading vs. Watching

I feel like I’ve hit my limit of video ingestion some days! Sure, it’s all flashy and entertaining, and/or informative. But sometimes I just want TO READ!!

Especially if I want specific information. To sit through an introduction, a pitch for other services, maybe a commercial or two, then more rambling talk by the host….to finally get to the nugget of info I was waiting for, is a special kind of torture. And if I am taking notes so I can remember what was said, I have to keep starting and stopping the video.

And then, having to scroll through dozens and dozens of videos until I find something that captures my interest or fills my need. Yes, you can eventually train the algorithm to curate to your tastes…until they reset it again.

Blogs Are Not Dead!

Honestly, I’ve begun to miss blogs. In the (not so) olden days, you would search for a topic, and dozens of blog posts would appear. You could skim them pretty quickly, and when you found what you were looking for, bookmark it, save it or print it out, or jot down a note or two, and you’re done.

You didn’t have to read every single post. You didn’t even have to read the blog post in its entirety, because they had subheadings so you could hone in on the section you wanted. And you could easily go back and read them again, if need be.

I’ve seen several posts recently on social media of others like me who prefer reading material over watching videos, at least for non-entertainment issues. So, I know I’m not the only person experiencing video fatigue.

Back to the (Blog) Future

Having blogged for several years for the hospitality industry and as a Romance author, I often miss writing blogs. I enjoyed exploring topics, coming up with a catchy headline, and engaging with readers who commented. Video creators go through a similar process, I’m sure, but I happen to be more comfortable with creating as a writer, than as a videographer.

Recently I revisited my author blog, which is still attached to my author website. I hadn’t looked at it in at least a year, and to my surprise, I’m still getting views of various blog posts every single day! Not as much traffic as I used to get, but it is consistent. I decided it was worth looking into again, to help boost my website’s SEO, and for…fun.

Immediately, ideas for future posts popped into my head like tiny plot bunnies. It may take me a bit to get back into the habit of writing and publishing blog posts, but I figure getting my words out into the universe in any way is a good thing. Maybe I can find some new readers, provide some information and entertainment, and please the algorithm gods!

Ambitious, I know. But why not try?

And no, I will NOT be using AI to “help” write my posts. Why miss the fun of creating?? Smh. Everything you read that I have created comes organically from my brain to my fingertips to your eyes.

So, if you’re reading this, stay tuned. I plan to talk about trends, tips, and interesting things going on in the book world. I’ll be sharing my posts on social media, but they can all be found (including past posts) at www.reneeregent.com/blog.

Comment below if you’re having video fatigue, too!