First came the internet: a massive, digital medium of exchange, communication and entertainment that would come to epitomize the advancement of modern technology. It didn’t take long for blogging to come to light and reinvent the way ideas and beliefs are exchanged. When the developing technology of digital cameras were thrown into the mix, vlogging was born.

Of all the forms of social media, vlogging is undoubtedly the most intimate. Once an inconceivable miracle, the idea of posting a video on the internet in an open and free digital forum for millions of people to see has simply become part of the norm.

“[Vloggers] explain a lot of stuff that you would kind of learn in school, but they do it in a way better way,” said senior Tom Bush.

Bush’s interest in vlogging began when his brother began watching prominent vloggers such as Vsauce and Hank Green. “Every once and a while I’d come back from school and he’d be like ‘Hey, watch this video,’” said Bush.

In addition to Vsauce, Bush also enjoys regularly watching SciShow, Numberphile and Vi Hart, all of which explore a variety of scientific and mathematical concepts and issues.

“A good vlog has the same character from video to video, but it’s never the same stuff in the video[s],” said Bush. “It’s always something routine. It’s every week. You can look forward to [saying] ‘Oh, there’s a new Vsauce today.’”

Bush also enjoys vlogs because they give him “something to watch that isn’t TV … Most of the stuff I see on TV isn’t very stimulating to the brain.”

Senior Jared Morningstar also admires thought provoking and engaging vlogs.

“Most of the vlogs I watch are more on the educational side, so I usually get a new perspective or learn something,” said Morningstar. “But at the same time they’re also very entertaining and humorous sometimes, so there’s many functions of vlog videos for me. It’s a very versatile medium.”

Morningstar first developed an interest in vlogging when he started watching vlogbrothers, a YouTube channel where brothers John and Hank Green vlog back and forth on various topics or issues. From there he has moved on to watching similar vlogs.

He enjoys “getting to know the personalities of a vlogger, because they come from different lifestyles. They’re different ages or backgrounds, so it’s interesting to really have a true different perspective like that I think.”

Math teacher, Matt Oswald, believes that vlogs are expanding “business and personal opportunities in terms of earning money or just sharing knowledge or opinions with the world … from what I can tell, if you’re a highly viewed vlogger, it looks like you can have opportunities to advertise on your vlog.”

Oswald sees potential for vlogs in the realm of education, saying that “I’m sure you could find some pretty dynamic vlogs that would really spark a conversation with students about a certain topic.”

The ways that communication is evolving in are truly revolutionizing the arts of conversation, education and expression. The emergence of vlogging has managed to spawn a community of unique individuals with a passion for knowledge and its transmission across the globe.