Roger McNamee On Video on the Internet

Roger McNamee On Video on the Internet: "'Roger McNamee, venture capitalist and author of The New Normal has just posted the third part of a fascinating series on his blog entitled 'Video on the Internet'. Here are parts one and two. His basic premise is that media companies are trying to treat the internet as a normal distribution channel like broadcast or DVD, but they need to learn that there are new rules to this game if they are to avoid the errors committed by the music industry. The user comments are also a must read, with luminaries like Marc Andreessen chiming in with their insights.'"

very very interesting, and i am only part way through. but 2 things the article has me thinking about, that i have yet to see addressed... 1) programers as infrastructure and 2) audience desire for low interactivity.

1) it seems to me programers are in no hurry to adopt new models that may end their legacy of control. there are arguments about the ability or lack there of for monitizing unprogrammed content. and both sides have merit, however i believe the real hurdle like that we have witnessed play out in the music industry is a fear of change and loss of control. who wants their job programming prime-time to be usurped 10 year old timmy who wants to watch transformer reruns over er. but my take on the future is timmy is smarter than the programers and like marc's friend (see comment 4) is already watching what he wants with no commercial interruptions or viewing fee.

2) almost always, and i am generalizing so feel free to flame, technology versed people make the argument that all audiences want interactivity. such is not always the case, some viewers like to just sit in front of the "idiot box" and not interact, not think and generally just be bombarded with mindless content for hours on end. interactive possibilities promised by the coming of ip based broadcasting is not the end all. it is merely a new option and far from the holy grail often thought as the driving force behind this innovation.