VON: Here Comes Internet Television

Veoh CEO Dmitry Shapiro seems as philosophical as his title is poetic. Speaking at the Video on the Net Conference in Boston, an extension of VON, Shapiro begins with the printing press and ends with "democratized Internet television." In due course of course, this changes everything.

Shapiro's journey begins in time - in 1436 on the heels of Gutenberg toting the first printed Bibles. Fast forward through smoke stacks and interchangeable parts, on past what used to be a squiggly fast-forwarding screen, beyond even the choppy silent digitized puppetry of 128x DVD skippingtake a minute to breathe, time traveling is hardand you have the still hormonal and adolescent Age of the Internet, within which we are now standing. It was a long journey, wasn't it? In 2006, as broadband became more prevalent and proper platforms evolved, the explosion of video on the Net took those still wrapping their minds around blogs and podcasts by surprise. "2006," said Shapiro, "was the year that Internet television really came into existence allowing anyone, virtually, to deliver television to the masses. Of course, How it will happen: the Internet TV world according to Shapiro: - Tools get easier, cheaper and more available - Transport technologies allow for cost effective data transport - Televisions being connected to computers - Transactional systems being built - Content discovery - Advertising systems get re-invented - Traditional broadcasters need to digitize, clear rights, rethink release windows. - Independent producers already embracing news medium - Copyright issues must be resolved. - Hundreds of companies will be created by this new medium. "I also believe that the search game we have today, even with Google, is just getting started. I personally don't think that indexed search is the end-all. The real killer application is to be able to deliver content you want before you know you want it." Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Yahoo! My Web | Furl Bookmark Murdok: