Technical Break: How to Upload a Video to Blogger using a Mac

Today’s post has nothing to do with farm living but I thought I would go through a tutorial for those of you who are interested in learning how to post Vlogs to Blogger.  Andy and I recently have started adding videos to our blogging repertoire- which technologically savvy people have termed “vlogs”.  Vlogging has become the new, hip thing to do as the world becomes more driven for immediate gratification of information.  Though Andy and I pretend that we are still super hip, we didn’t jump on this bandwagon to be trendy, but because it was a really easy and fast way to keep our readers up to date on our newest project- renovating an attic space into a shared kid’s bedroom.  Though Andy is the witty one of our duo, especially in his writing, I have put him on a very tight schedule to get the room completed so he doesn’t have enormous amounts of time to devote to typing.  Enter, video posts. 

Though I consider myself pretty competent in the technology field and more than willing to dive into something new, I had a hell of a time getting our videos posted to Blogger, despite having an “oh, so amazing, it can do everything” Mac.  I won’t go into all of the troubles I encountered but it ranged from issues with video file sizes to upload errors.  After many days of frustration, research and experimentation, I have finally had success uploading these videos to YouTube, Blogger and Facebook.  I’m sure this is not the only way, nor is it probably the best way but it works for me.  Hopefully it helps anyone else struggling with this process and takes some guess work and hours out of your day.  

Uploading a video to your Mac and altering the file size:

1. Record your video using the camera tool on your iPhone or iPad with the dial switched to “video”.  Shorter videos (5 minutes or less) are much more successful.
2. Plug your iPhone or iPad into your Mac using the USB connector (or if you use the Cloud, you can get your video on the computer this way.  I can’t take the Cloud so I don’t use it).
3. Open iMovie.  If you have never used it before, you will likely have to update it which will take all night because apparently the magical Mac needs to constantly update every program you run.  Go see a movie or go to bed because this update will take way longer than it should.
4. Click “Import” located on the top toolbar of the program.
   
5. Make sure video is selected (not photos) and find your video from the files listed. Click on the video you want to import and click “Import Selected”
6. Do any editing you need to at this point.
7. Click “Share” located on the top toolbar of the program and choose “File”.  
   
   This is where you can change the size of the file.  My Blogger says I have a 100 mb limit on video files so I pick a size that is less than this.  Obviously the smaller the file, the poorer video quality so don’t put it down too small.
   
8. Write a title and description for your video and choose a place to save it to.  I save it straight to my Desktop so it is really easy to find again.
9. Your video is now saved to your computer so you can delete it from your phone or iPad if you wish.

Uploading a video to YouTube:

1. The next step is to upload a video to YouTube.  You can upload it straight to Blogger at this point but I haven’t had a ton of success with this (endless upload times) and if your video is just on Blogger, the views are limited to just your blog followers.  Uploading to YouTube first gives you the opportunity of a wider viewing audience.
2. If you are not already, log into your account in YouTube.
3. Click “Upload” at the top left of the screen.
   
4. Drag and drop your video straight from your desktop into the space provided (or select files to upload and find your saved video from your files).  You can select here who you want to be able to view your video- public, unlisted or private.
5. Wait for your video to upload and process.  The smaller the file, the fast the download time.  Add a title, description and tags that will make it obvious what your video is about and easy for people to find it when searching your topic.
6. Once your video is uploaded and processed, it will show that it is complete and give you a web address link.  Your video is now viewable to the masses.

Taking your YouTube video and putting a link to it from Blogger

1. Open Blogger and login if necessary.  Go to the blog you want to add your video to.
2. Click “New Post” on the top right hand of the screen.
3. Create a title for your post.
4. Click on the video icon on the top toolbar located right above the body of the writing section.
   
5. Click “From YouTube” and in the search area, type in the title of your video.  If your video hasn’t completed processing at this point it won’t show up so be patient.
   
   
   
   
6. Click on your video and click “Select”.
7. It shouldn’t take too long for your video to pop up.  Write anything you want to to complete your post and click the orange “Publish” at the top of the screen.

Creating a link to your new, fantastic Vlog post on Facebook

1. Finally, open a tab to view your new post on Blogger.  Click the Facebook icon at the bottom of your post. 
   
   A new window will open allowing you to post to Facebook- check that you are posting to the correct Facebook page if you are using a shared computer.  If your Facebook did not come up, open a new tab and log off of Facebook and back into it using the account you want to put your link on.
2. Change the privacy settings if needed (posted to public, friends, etc) and “Share Link.”
   
3. Wait patiently for your adoring fans to find it and view your new, amazing video!