Just when we thought it is easy to talk in front of the video camera, think again. It is actually harder than it looks. I even needed to do several takes just to have those under 20-second videos – and it’s still far from being good! Awkward movement of the lips, eyes on the screen and not on the phone camera lens, winds louder than your voice… and of course, that moment when you see people looking at you while you’re do it as if saying – “is he actually vlogging?”
This was inspired by a vlog of the same title “A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A BLOGGER” by popular Filipino lifestyle blogger, David Guison (whom I also follow). I tried to pull off my own version narrating my typical weekend via instastories. Coincidentally, I had few events lined-up for that weekend so I thought it would be a great timing.
PREPARATIONS
Prior to filming, I made a list of what should I avoid doing while covering the day’s event.
- I shouldn’t film while driving. Since I am an advocate and firm supporter of safe driving in Qatar, filming while driving will not give a positive signal to the readers and followers even though it might look cool on video. It could be possible with a crew but not while driving alone.
- I shouldn’t distract people or events while doing the vlog. It should be as unobtrusive or unnoticeable as possible.
8:00AM | SHANGRI-LA DOHA (Westbay)
Woke up early to attend the first event for the day, The Philippine Trade and Tourism Conference Qatar 2017.
10:00AM | GOLDEN TULIP HOTEL (Old Salata)
Went straight to the Men’s Meeting afterwards and was overwhelmed by the turn out of participants eager to get some motivations from the guest speaker.
12:30AM | FIGARO COFFEE (Ramada Signal)
Anticipating a much hectic afternoon, I proceeded to the next event which is our last of the FREE Blogging Session for the year. This is a series of free seminars that I am organizing through the support of fellow bloggers with the purpose of providing a venue for casual knowledge-sharing on how to start-up a blog and other useful tips.
3:30PM | MARINA 2 (The Pearl, Qatar)
Drove straight to The Pearl immediately after the session to catch the last event of the day – the Bloggers Cruise organized by NewinDoha and National Cruise Company.
8:30PM | RELIGIOUS COMPLEX (Abu Hamour)
After that awesome cruise with influencers and content creators in Doha, it was time to pick up my family from church and go home.
A DAY (WEEKEND) IN THE LIFE OF A BLOGGER IN QATAR
While this type of schedule doesn’t happen every day, it shows a typically busy weekend. And while it looks glamourous, with scrumptious food here and there, and meeting a lot of people… sometimes, we also have to trade off some family time or even “me” time. This is the reason why I usually block off my Saturdays exclusively to spend time with them. Sometimes Itag them along with me if I have commitments.
Events aren’t only about socializing but it is actually a lot of work too – taking photos, doing snapshots or instastories (tagging the sponsors and organizers), and even jotting down notes for important details you don’t want to miss when you do the write-up later on. With that being said, while everyone is asleep, you still do a lot of stuffs: like writing your post, editing the photos (which I don’t do because I don’t know how to), and even checking out your social media – replying back to messages, and even reciprocating the love you get from your followers and friends. The latter was actually a commitment you give to your followers which also assures you of active engagements.
Yes, it can get really tiring but at the end of it all – you should be happy with what you are doing. Finding the right balance of time and priority with family, work and blogging is necessary.
Very interesting and informative piece of writing…