Vlogmas, a grueling YouTube tradition in which creators — typically lifestyle and family vloggers — commit to posting every day during the month of December until Christmas, is already in full swing. However, this year’s iteration has arrived with something of a twist.
Rather than sharing daily videos on YouTube — something of a Herculean feat during the frenetic holiday season — creators like Shane Dawson and Kandee Johnson have ported their Vlogmas efforts over to Instagram Stories, where content is generally less polished and vastly easier to compose.
The fact that Dawson, who has become a pioneer of the YouTube format in recent months, has made the move to Instagram and Snapchat for Vlogmas is telling in several ways. It codifies the fact that creators have increasingly come to see their YouTube channels as venues for prestigious content — even in the realm of docu-style vlogs — while Stories have become decidedly less consequential. Dawson, for instance, dropped the final episode of his ambitious Jake Paul series in mid-October, and his YouTube channel has remained dormant ever since as he brainstorms a worthy follow-up.
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Doing “Vlogmas” on my instagram stories and snapchat this month! Be warned!
📷 shanedawson
👻 lolshanedawson pic.twitter.com/DcqDO3Hm8D— Shane Dawson (@shanedawson) December 1, 2018
So, just like @Shanedawson …and not just because my middle name is Shayn too🤩, my IG stories will be are pretty much my VLOGMAS! So make sure you follow me on Instagram @kandeejohnson for #Vlogmas 😂
— Kandee Johnson (@kandeejohnson) December 5, 2018
The ease of the Stories format also likely serves as a respite for creators for whom the prospect of Vlogmas feels both all-consuming and invasive. Even Vlogmas’ alleged inventor, Ingrid Nilsen, has stepped away from the tradition in recent years. Last year, Nilsen said that daily vlogging had “crossed a personal boundary” — though this year she is participating in Vlogmas at the decidedly more manageable rate of one video per week.
And while Vlogmas may be easier on Instagram Stories, it does mean that creators will be missing out on the lucrative CPM rates that arrive on YouTube in December. YouTube advertising revenue tend to be at an all-time highs during the holiday season, when viewers are snuggled up at home watching videos and on the hunt for Christmas gifts.
You can check out the beginning of Dawson’s Vlogmas efforts below. In his first few days, he covers a number of well-worn tropes: shilling merchandise, cooking up a hearty breakfast, blasting Christmas tunes, and showing off his festive decorations. On Day 3, he faux-admits to getting lip fillers — a rite of passage for many a beauty guru.
To be fair, a number of prominent YouTubers are carrying on the Vlogmas tradition on the platform where it was born. This includes Zoe Sugg, Trisha Paytas, The Ace Family, and many more.
