From the day Jun launched this blog, I was hooked. Posts often feature Jun interviewing another blogger about his or her blog, the blog content, personal aspirations and other topics. Jun’s concept works so well because he’s helping readers and bloggers connect beyond the text. This interests almost all blog readers, which is why the “About” page is often one of the most viewed pages on a blog.

Each time I watch one of Jun’s interviews I think about how this probably wouldn’t work as well in text. The same is basically true for almost any blogger who wants to feature an interview in a blog post. Video works better than print. Here’s why:

Conventional Q&A’s Aren’t Compelling
Bloggers love posting Q&A’s because it’s easy to create this content. You shoot off a bunch of questions to an interview subject and he or she e-mails you back. Copy, paste, publish and you’re done. The person you’ve selected to interview might be somewhat interesting and have some insightful things to say, but you’ll probably won’t elicit brilliant must-read answers by using this method.

Interviews Usually Don’t Provide New Information
Social media makes everyone more accessible, so if I had a burning question for the person you’re interviewing, I could send them a message, tweet, e-mail or IM. I’m probably less likely to schedule a video chat with someone I hardly know. But there’s a lot of non-verbal communication that goes on when you see a person on a video and that information helps you develop an impression of what the person is actually like.

Interviews are Valuable as Part of a Larger Undertaking
Text interviews are much more compelling to read with analysis, context and responses. Perhaps your interview subject gave you an interesting answer, you’re much more likely to write memorable content if you provide even more than just that interesting answer. Did someone contradict that answer? Why is it interesting or unusual? Interviews in the context of an article are more interesting than if they stand alone.

Sure, other factors are involved in making the content compelling. Jun basically started the blog with a pre-existing community because most (if not all) of the featured bloggers are from the Gen. Y / BrazenCareerist.com community, so there’s a pre-existing curiosity about learning more about people whose names you recognize. Chuck Westbrook’s experience also highlights the importance of community. Chuck recently refocused his blog project and openly blogged about what was working and what wasn’t, commenters pointed out that the bloggers Chuck profiled didn’t have a lot in common–the community ties were weak.

Of course, it also goes without saying that some people come across a lot better in print that on video. But for those who can pull it off, video wins hands down when it comes to interviews.