Watching Internet TV

To say that Jeff Pulver is excited about Internet-based TV is to say that Buffalo had snow flurries last week. As he indicated at VON earlier this fall, Pulver believes Internet-based TV is about to give the cable and telecom companies a run for their video dollars.

Today, Pulver announced the launch of a new site, Network2, which showcases content specifically made for the Internet. The content--and its quality--varies widely. This isn't about the YouTubes of the world, although some of the videos are reminiscent of that site's content. It's about the fact that technology is now cheap enough that ordinary people can make their own Internet videos and put them online.

And that's what you find on Network2--the differing takes of many different people on lots of different subjects. There are phony funny newscasts, lots of video blogs, food shows, instructional videos and much more, as I discovered when I wasted, er, spent several hours researching this article by viewing the Network2 content.

Based on what I saw, most of this content is never going to be mainstream--and that's the beauty of it. The fact that Internet TV will deliver a variety that even IPTV is unlikely to ever bring to my living room is reinforcement of what the Internet has already done for publishing, e-commerce and communications.

Just as malls haven't vanished and magazines haven't either, commercial TV isn't likely to be threatened by Internet video content, only changed. Just as virtually every brick-and-mortar store now has a video storefront and many politicians and publishing companies now have blogs, it follows that mainstream TV may soon have video content that is specific to the 'Net (and not just TV shows that look worse on my monitor).

What I'm waiting for now is the first "cross-over" star.

E-mail me at CWilson3@telephonyonline.com.