The internet has indisputably changed the way information travels and who has access to what. Now, the prevailing idea seems to be that anyone can gain access to just about anything. A kid with a funny twitter account can become a popular comedian, just as a blogger can make an easy transition to being a well-known author. Musicians no longer require the money to go on tour in order to gain a fan following, nor do they need to be attached to a big name label to produce music.

YouTube, in particular, has become a huge platform for amateur film makers and storytellers alike. With the emergence of video blogging or “vlogging” a new way of telling life narratives was introduced – one that didn’t rely on third parties, such as publishers or network executives. Vlogging allows just about anyone to tell their story with minimal censorship. There is no third party; one can film, edit, and post videos from their home straight to an audience of millions of people.

Through YouTube, individuals, including those belonging to marginalized groups, are given an accessible platform to share their stories. Vlogs can range from simple thoughts and musings on everyday life to chronicles of living with illness or disability, like in Jason DaSilva’s representation of his experience living with multiple sclerosis. Vlogging, unlike traditional publishing, allows people like DaSilva to represent their lives in the fashion of their choosing without having to go through an editor.

Before the internet, this direct and immediate approach to telling life narratives was almost nonexistent, especially for the marginalized. As Schaffer and Smith note in Conjunctions: Life Narratives in the Field of Human Rights, life narratives from countries without access to publishing often had to go through Western channels in order to be heard, and through the process were altered to suit a Western audience (11). The act of vlogging eliminates that third party, allowing people to tell their stories without interference, so that less of their stories are lost in translation because no translation needs to exist.

Yet, even though the internet and YouTube in particular have greatly increased the number and diversity of people who are able to share their life narratives, it still remains an unattainable platform to the parts of the world that don’t have access to the internet, or to individuals without access to video equipment or the skills to edit and post, or even to advertise and attract vieweres. There are thousands of vlogs on YouTube that remains unacknowledged by the public and thousands of people whose stories, while important, cannot gain traction on the internet; the popularity of a beginner blogger relies, at least in part, on who they can get to watch their videos.

Vlogging is an important medium for the telling of life narratives because it is accessible to many and limits third party interference. Though there are gaps in accessibility that even the internet has not filled, the act of vlogging is a form of autobiography that increases the range of stories that we see and hear, offering us a broader view of the world and the diversity of the people in it.