From “welcome to my channel” to “please like, share, & subscribe”: A conversational analysis of the opening and closing strategies of Filipino Youtube vlogs

Abstract

In the field of communications much is still to be known about Filipino vlogs. And yet vlogs are subject to much public discourse. Anchored in Jessica De Boeck’s (2015) work, this study determines the purposes that vlogs serve in this computer-mediated communication by examining the opening and closing strategies in 10 Filipino YouTube vlogs. Generally, the results of the study are constitutive of De Boeck’s findings. However, Filipino vlogs have interesting additions to these identified strategies. For the opening strategies, some Filipino vloggers identify their viewers by denoting names to their fan base. They also include short clips or video previews, which I argue as “digital markers.” And as for the closing strategies, some Filipino vloggers operate the discourse marker “so” as a final closing strategy. Lastly, the topic shading forecasts vloggers’ arrangement and framing. By and large, the vlogs’ employed strategies are deemed to provide a profound sense of involvement, engagement, and belongingness.