<blockquote>
<p>The difference between a programmer and a designer is that that the programmer says «This or that» the designer says «This and that»</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Your question is v pertinent to our times because of the plethora of media available and the paucity of hard data on their relative advantages.</p>
<p>Hence an <em>and</em> is better than an <em>or</em></p>
<h2>Importance of Media</h2>
<p>Anecdote</p>
<p>I was having trouble getting responses from my class ...</p>
<p>Me: Do you just not read mail?<br />
Class: (deafening silence)<br />
Me: Will facebook be better than email?<br />
Class: (silence but less deafening)<br />
Me: So what works for you folks?<br />
(after much cajoling)<br />
Class: Whatsapp!</p>
<p>So then I started sending mails <strong>primed</strong> by a whatsapp. And put at end communication problems!</p>
<p>Later I stopped using something as dinosaurial as mail(!!) and keep all actual material in google-class/github... Always initiated by whatsapp!</p>
<h2>Moral?</h2>
<p>You likely lose a large section of your potential audience by simply choosing a medium other than youtube.</p>
<p>Nevertheless all the responses praising dense text over audio-visual is v valid.  Hence I'd say : Use both</p>
<p>In fact I'd suggest 3-way bidirectionally linked:</p>
<ol>
<li>Lectures on youtube</li>
<li>Indexed presentations of above</li>
<li>Code on github with Readmes/comments pointing to above two</li>
</ol>
<p>Notes</p>
<ul>
<li>Maybe jsfiddle better than github??</li>
<li>I prefer light-weight emacs+orgmode to MS/Libre presentation. But I'm old!</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-08T05:34:25.837Z
2020-02-08T09:51:00.977Z
2020-06-18T08:36:57.023Z
Rushi
<p><strong>Videos or Articles?</strong><br>
I learned about web development on my own. I preferred videos to show me what was capable/ the end result of implementing a new technology. Then I used blog posts, articles, and tutorials to actually implement everything. My answer: do both.</p>

<p><strong>Pros and Cons?</strong><br>
You asked about pros and cons. There are a lot based on what you want to do. Since the description of what you want to do is kind of broad, I wanted to provide a list of things that you can think about about as you try to find the pros and cons of using videos or articles. That way, if there are some that are missed in this forum, you have something to help you think of some more. :)</p>

<p>So here's my suggestion. To think through the pros and cons of using videos or articles, think of your audience, your content type, and your content creation frequency.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Your audience:<br> 
Who are you making this content for? People that are experienced with web development but just new to certain technologies? Or is it for experienced users only? <em>In some cases,</em> I've noticed that people that know what they're doing really want straight-to-the-point, high-level tutorials while someone who is new to a particular technology likes step-by-step detailed tutorials that go over every detail.</p>

<p>There are other factors that go into audience types. I think the other answers describe them well. </p></li>
<li><p>Content type: <br>
Are you going to do step-by-step tutorials? Or are you just looking to provide high-level overviews? Or maybe a mix of both? From personal experience, step-by-step guides are better as articles because you don't have to worry about stopping and starting a video. Also, are you just doing tutorials? Or are you going to do something else (i.e. interview web developers that are using the technologies you want to talk about on your blog)? In the case of interviews, video would be great with captions and/or a transcript.</p></li>
<li><p>Content creation frequency:<br>
Think about how often you will create and maintain your content? With YouTube videos for example, it's really important to be consistent so people know when they will get new content from you. Will it be easier for you to keep up with videos or articles? Also, think about if or how you will maintain/ update old content when new technologies are released or if you make a mistake in a tutorial.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>I hope that helps! Have fun with the blog!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T17:55:46.603Z
2018-07-05T17:55:46.603Z
JustBlossom
<p>As a student, I get a lot more from blogs.  Many of the videos I have seen are pretty hit or miss.  With a blog, I can scan it in a minute or so and be able to tell if it holds the answers/info I am looking for or curious about.  With a video, there seems to be a much longer time commitment due to more forwarding, searching and hunting for an overview of the video's quality.</p>

<p>I think it may depend also on what you are trying to do?  Are you trying to relate an entire concept? Or is your approach more targeted towards demonstrating specifics, edge cases, etc?  I think for broader overviews, videos are more helpful from what I have seen with my peers and myself.  Blogs seem to do better with content that has a narrower focus, especially if specific, concrete examples are included.</p>

<p>There may also be the notion of data usage and accessibility to consider.  It is much easier to download a webpage then read it later or offline.  Not much data has to be transferred for that to happen.  Video of course takes much more data to transmit and more room to store.  Those may not be major concerns for everyone but some places I'm sure the difference between the two is enormous.</p>

<p>Whatever you choose, thanks for doing it and helping the rest of us learn, it is appreciated!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-07T21:13:21.747Z
100% agree, it's way harder to find a specific piece of information in a video than it is in written text. Also consider the value of Ctrl+F to find keywords of interest in large documents, while there isn't really a commonly used analogue for searching a video. Short videos on general topics are fine (especially if I don't really know what I'm looking for), but if I'm looking for a specific nugget of information, text will get me there a lot faster.
Nuclear Hoagie
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-04T22:06:23.220Z
2018-07-04T22:06:23.220Z
red_squiggly_line
<p>There is no reason not to do both, actually. Either can serve as the basis for creating the other. </p>

<p>However, if you do only one, you will leave out a fraction of your audience. People with vision impairment may prefer your videos, provided that the audio is good. This is a small group, of course. </p>

<p>But people with hearing impairment, a much larger group, including myself, won't get much from your videos and would much prefer written material. I don't really watch YouTube (or television, for that matter), unless the material is purely visual. </p>

<p>Moreover, it is difficult to annotate video presentations. You normally have to create a separate record and then it is hard to sync your notes with what is on the screen. Written material can much more easily be annotated. </p>

<p>But in the modern world, many people will prefer the videos, I suspect. But your planning for creating the videos and the audio script is also the same as the core of what you want in a blog. </p>

<p>So, Blog or Video? Yes!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-04T13:11:58.087Z
Instructional blogs/vlogs like this often have a video, it's transcript, and exercises. Check out www.tomorrowsfilmmakers.com for an example.
pojo-guy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-04T09:50:18.100Z
2018-07-04T09:50:18.100Z
Buffy
<p>Just one additional argument for the articles version:</p>

<p>To follow a video, you have to turn on audio output. Many professional developers share their office with their colleagues. To not disturb the other ones, they can't just use their PC's speaker. They must resort to headsets to follow a video.</p>

<p>For that reason, I typically have the audio of my workplace PC completely switched off.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-02T21:32:04.317Z
2018-08-02T21:32:04.317Z
Ralf Kleberhoff
<p>I want to create a web development blog where I will teach a variety of subjects that people usually don't talk about.</p>
<p>How people prefer to get content? Using videos or text?</p>
<p>What are the pros and cons of each media?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-05T16:40:49.410Z
copy/pasting code samples from a video is very hard to do.  Also, keep in mind accessibility ....
ivanivan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-09T17:20:43.960Z
I believe this question is mostly opinion-based. There are many pros and many cons of each. Different people are going to prefer different formats for different topics, at different times. Go with whichever one you enjoy creating more.
Kevin Workman
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-10T23:27:05.363Z
Make it interactive. and include text, pictures, and video.
ctrl-alt-delor
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-19T15:00:33.477Z
@ivanivan: Most (good quality) development training tends to have a publically accessible repository for the discussed code (e.g. GitHub), and Youtube videos are no different. Code samples very quickly grow beyond something that is easily digestable over the limited space in a blog post anyway - though snippets are more viable there.
Flater
<self-learning><web-development>
How do people prefer to learn web development - videos or text?
# How do people prefer to learn web development - videos or text?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-04)

I want to create a web development blog where I will teach a variety of subjects that people usually don't talk about.

How people prefer to get content? Using videos or text?

What are the pros and cons of each media?

**Tags:** self-learning, web-development

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: copy/pasting code samples from a video is very hard to do.  Also, keep in mind accessibility ....  
> **username_2**: I believe this question is mostly opinion-based. There are many pros and many cons of each. Different people are going to prefer different formats for different topics, at different times. Go with whichever one you enjoy creating more.  
> **username_3**: Make it interactive. and include text, pictures, and video.  
> **username_4**: @username_1: Most (good quality) development training tends to have a publically accessible repository for the discussed code (e.g. GitHub), and Youtube videos are no different. Code samples very quickly grow beyond something that is easily digestable over the limited space in a blog post anyway - though snippets are more viable there.  

---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_7 on 2018-07-04. Score: 8

As a student, I get a lot more from blogs. Many of the videos I have seen are pretty hit or miss. With a blog, I can scan it in a minute or so and be able to tell if it holds the answers/info I am looking for or curious about. With a video, there seems to be a much longer time commitment due to more forwarding, searching and hunting for an overview of the video's quality.

I think it may depend also on what you are trying to do? Are you trying to relate an entire concept? Or is your approach more targeted towards demonstrating specifics, edge cases, etc? I think for broader overviews, videos are more helpful from what I have seen with my peers and myself. Blogs seem to do better with content that has a narrower focus, especially if specific, concrete examples are included.

There may also be the notion of data usage and accessibility to consider. It is much easier to download a webpage then read it later or offline. Not much data has to be transferred for that to happen. Video of course takes much more data to transmit and more room to store. Those may not be major concerns for everyone but some places I'm sure the difference between the two is enormous.

Whatever you choose, thanks for doing it and helping the rest of us learn, it is appreciated!

> **Comments:**
> **username_8**: 100% agree, it's way harder to find a specific piece of information in a video than it is in written text. Also consider the value of Ctrl+F to find keywords of interest in large documents, while there isn't really a commonly used analogue for searching a video. Short videos on general topics are fine (especially if I don't really know what I'm looking for), but if I'm looking for a specific nugget of information, text will get me there a lot faster.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2018-07-05. Score: 6

**Videos or Articles?**  
I learned about web development on my own. I preferred videos to show me what was capable/ the end result of implementing a new technology. Then I used blog posts, articles, and tutorials to actually implement everything. My answer: do both.

**Pros and Cons?**  
You asked about pros and cons. There are a lot based on what you want to do. Since the description of what you want to do is kind of broad, I wanted to provide a list of things that you can think about about as you try to find the pros and cons of using videos or articles. That way, if there are some that are missed in this forum, you have something to help you think of some more. :)

So here's my suggestion. To think through the pros and cons of using videos or articles, think of your audience, your content type, and your content creation frequency.

* Your audience:  
  Who are you making this content for? People that are experienced with web development but just new to certain technologies? Or is it for experienced users only? *In some cases,* I've noticed that people that know what they're doing really want straight-to-the-point, high-level tutorials while someone who is new to a particular technology likes step-by-step detailed tutorials that go over every detail.

  There are other factors that go into audience types. I think the other answers describe them well.
* Content type:   
  Are you going to do step-by-step tutorials? Or are you just looking to provide high-level overviews? Or maybe a mix of both? From personal experience, step-by-step guides are better as articles because you don't have to worry about stopping and starting a video. Also, are you just doing tutorials? Or are you going to do something else (i.e. interview web developers that are using the technologies you want to talk about on your blog)? In the case of interviews, video would be great with captions and/or a transcript.
* Content creation frequency:  
  Think about how often you will create and maintain your content? With YouTube videos for example, it's really important to be consistent so people know when they will get new content from you. Will it be easier for you to keep up with videos or articles? Also, think about if or how you will maintain/ update old content when new technologies are released or if you make a mistake in a tutorial.

I hope that helps! Have fun with the blog!


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2018-07-04. Score: 4

There is no reason not to do both, actually. Either can serve as the basis for creating the other.

However, if you do only one, you will leave out a fraction of your audience. People with vision impairment may prefer your videos, provided that the audio is good. This is a small group, of course.

But people with hearing impairment, a much larger group, including myself, won't get much from your videos and would much prefer written material. I don't really watch YouTube (or television, for that matter), unless the material is purely visual.

Moreover, it is difficult to annotate video presentations. You normally have to create a separate record and then it is hard to sync your notes with what is on the screen. Written material can much more easily be annotated.

But in the modern world, many people will prefer the videos, I suspect. But your planning for creating the videos and the audio script is also the same as the core of what you want in a blog.

So, Blog or Video? Yes!

> **Comments:**
> **username_10**: Instructional blogs/vlogs like this often have a video, it's transcript, and exercises. Check out www.tomorrowsfilmmakers.com for an example.  

---

### Answer by username_11 on 2018-08-02. Score: 3

Just one additional argument for the articles version:

To follow a video, you have to turn on audio output. Many professional developers share their office with their colleagues. To not disturb the other ones, they can't just use their PC's speaker. They must resort to headsets to follow a video.

For that reason, I typically have the audio of my workplace PC completely switched off.


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-02-08. Score: 1

> The difference between a programmer and a designer is that that the programmer says «This or that» the designer says «This and that»

Your question is v pertinent to our times because of the plethora of media available and the paucity of hard data on their relative advantages.

Hence an *and* is better than an *or*

## Importance of Media

Anecdote

I was having trouble getting responses from my class ...

Me: Do you just not read mail?  
Class: (deafening silence)  
Me: Will facebook be better than email?  
Class: (silence but less deafening)  
Me: So what works for you folks?  
(after much cajoling)  
Class: Whatsapp!

So then I started sending mails **primed** by a whatsapp. And put at end communication problems!

Later I stopped using something as dinosaurial as mail(!!) and keep all actual material in google-class/github... Always initiated by whatsapp!

## Moral?

You likely lose a large section of your potential audience by simply choosing a medium other than youtube.

Nevertheless all the responses praising dense text over audio-visual is v valid. Hence I'd say : Use both

In fact I'd suggest 3-way bidirectionally linked:

1. Lectures on youtube
2. Indexed presentations of above
3. Code on github with Readmes/comments pointing to above two

Notes

* Maybe jsfiddle better than github??
* I prefer light-weight emacs+orgmode to MS/Libre presentation. But I'm old!


---

