Rise of Internet TV

http://seekingalpha.com/article/188279-the-imminent-rise-of-internet-tv

This article talks about the potential impact of Vizio's new television set which promises wireless access to the internet which allows it to access online video content from the comfort of your living room couch and played on the same television that's used for normal broadcast television. Essentially what the author claims is that our televisions are going to end up as large netbooks, whose purpose is entertainment value and basic internet access. As long as wireless internet can be perfected to a point where information can be downloaded at a blink of the eye on a consistent basis, this technology can very well be implemented in a majority of living rooms around the United States.

I chose this article because it outlines the potential of internet TV to start becoming a centerpiece of someone's home entertainment system. Web content has thrived mostly because it is so easy to access and you can control what you watch for the most part in terms of program type and viewing time. Vizio is basically making this idea even more convenient by eliminating the need of a computer and making it possible to switch instantaneously between live TV and web content, either in terms of viral videos or webisodes. This brings up the concept of convergence, since as mentioned in page 335 in our book, this interactive TV lands between what we have traditionally come to expect from both our computers and televisions.

Applications such as Netflix also lend credence to the idea of convergence with this new TV because the streaming capabilities of the site will now be utilized through the television instead of just the computer screen. Though video game systems have brought this kind of technology into their consoles already, having it through the television itself brings together a much broader audience that wasn't interested in gaming. This brings up an interesting query, however. If televisions begin utilizing VOD services through the internet, those same game systems would essentially lose any purpose for having those same services, unless of course an individual is using a monitor for their gaming purposes, and not a television.

Web Series Statistics

http://corp.visiblemeasures.com/news-and-events/blog/bid/11797/The-Top-10-Most-Watched-Web-Series-January-2010

This article is from Visible Measures, a firm which tracks the consumption and distribution of online video. Much like a typical ratings system, it tracks video plays while also giving commentary as to why certain videos may be regressing or surging in popularity. These are in turn used by producers and advertisers in order to help them spend money in ways that will promote them making a profit. This specific article focuses on the top 10 most popular web series for the month of January based on page views.

I chose this article because it not only outlines the kinds of programs that people are willing to watch on a consistent basis, but also speculates on the current trends of these kinds of programs based on how much their popularity rises or falls. This information is important because it helps to show what demographics are watching web-based content that hasn't originated from television. If someone were to try and produce a web series, comedy and video-game based content seem to be the two most popular genres for the internet community.

The user-generated content which would then be produced, as outlined by the book on page 317-318, goes far beyond simple viral videos and into a much longer and sustained series which builds up a following of fans who will consistently demand more. The article outlines these types of series such as College Humor's "Hardly Working":

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

"Hardly Working" has become a staple for the site as a consistent source of short videos designed to keep their audience laughing with original content while also serving as a portal for viral videos. This has essentially lead larger media outlets to also look for online content which falls within what their audience wants. Gametrailers.com for example offers up several online webisodes of shows which review the gaming industry, which falls within the video-game genre as previously mentioned. With decently produced original content such as this being produced on a consistent basis, it becomes necessary for advertisers to look at these venues in order to help promote their clients on the web to a large audience.

Test

This is a test post. Awesome.