In the world of web 2.0, subjectivity reigns.

We often take for granted the truth that all social media messages, from tiny tweets to massive blog posts, are tempered by the opinions and worldviews of their creators. But that truth is inescapable. And it’s the reason why social media is so compelling: it’s a tableau of human experience.

This shift from an Internet of facts to an Internet of personal commentary is reshaping traditional media. And there are few better examples of the positive repercussions of this effect than what VBS.TV has grown into over the past year or two.

VBS.TV is the documentary arm of the Vice media conglomerate (which began as a pop culture ‘zine in Montreal). It specializes in fearless, highly subjective and subversive reporting presented in the guise of slacker journalism. In a typical installment, Vice co-founder Shane Smith (a kind of ursine Everyman) and his crew infiltrate into the world’s freakiest and most inaccessible areas — Iran, North Korea — and show reality in a way that makes 60 Minutes look like The Dead Sea Scrolls.

Rather than gathering material to craft a final product or report, VBS takes the viewer along every step of the documenting process, establishing a transparency that resembles what it would be like if you, the viewer, were there with them. This, in a sense, obviates the need for fact-gathering reporting by focusing instead on the experience. They’ve followed junkies in Wales, profiled heavy metal bands in Baghdad, traveled to the remote quarters of an Alaskan hermit and done their share of sexytime coverage, too.

We at Locker Partner became fans of VBS through Smith & co.’s jaunt to North Korea, a place where foreign journalists are almost never admitted. But with a small digital camera on video mode, the VBS peeps were able to tell an amazingly compelling story. Start here.

Perhaps catching on to the subjective shift in new media, CNN became interested in VBS’ style of journalism and, earlier this year, began syndicating some of Vice’s content, including their latest production, about Mexican narco cinema.

And, of course, all the programs are free and shareable. Enjoy.