d Blog

Welcome to d blog, also known as Dan's rant. The content herein is essentially comprised of miscellaneous ramblings and random thoughts on the nature of contemporary existence.

"Me Tubing"

The “Me Tube” deal from partners NBC Universal, Fox, MSN and others is but the latest example of a bandwagon lemming CYA corporate mentality getting the better of the boardroom. It sounds like what’s in the works here is a joint online distribution deal that doesn’t feature a branded website. IMHO the announcement was a beachhead addressing only a limited scope of the threat perceived by Google’s You Tube.

For Wall Street’s sake something had to be done. God forbid we risk some analyst’s criticism. The consortium’s horse of a different color purports to make TV series available online. There has been no mention of user generated or user modified content. UGC is of course a cornerstone of what attracted You Tube’s audience to begin with. That along with a certain ugly simplicity that only the irreverent could love. FREE certainly helps.

Against this backdrop of the popularity of the UGC upstarts VS big media fear comes the launch of Apple TV which carries with it an even more significant indication of changes to come. Apple’s inexpensive box, A TIVO like aggregator that ports online content to the Television set. The device features a channel menu screen that places network TV Shows alongside internet content. There is no distinction made between Lost and Ask A Ninja. Multi-Million dollar productions co-exist with Joe-Bob’s shoestring productions shot on a $1000.00 camcorder. Popularity is popularity and audience is audience. When the database guys can connect the dots, the analysts determine the metrics and the technologists at Google create a platform that allows large advertising investment to be easily spread across thousands of niche programs then ad targeting will become extreme and this is what big media’s nightmares are made of.

Giving additional credence to the transmogrification of entertainment and information creation and distribution is the nonstop juggernaut that is wireless. The biggest players are making announcements right and left regarding the distribution of Television content over cell phones. At this juncture just getting to a WAP site requires an effort and fortitude for drilling that I’m unwilling to expend. And oh the cost for wireless data service are not to be believed. What with bills for Cable, Tivo Voip, ISP, Cellular fees and XM radio being what they are, I certainly don’t need to add to my monthly nut and watch television on a 2 inch screen. I don’t even want the option. Unless of course it’s FREE.

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