Free Advice for Hulu: Play On

I just finished watching The Daily Show from last night on Hulu and happened to be in the middle of folding some clothes when the show ended.  After a brief ad, the screen went dead and offered up some static thumbnails of suggested viewing.

It dawned on me that Hulu was missing a great opportunity to either introduce me to new content or keep me viewing related content while increasing my potential time on the site – a big benefit when trying to sell advertisers.

So, Hulu, here is my free advice:

Once a program ends, if the viewer doesn’t intervene, just start streaming something else, just like you would do on TV.  Sure, I might not end up watching whatever it is…but I might.  Plus, you’ve lost nothing for trying.

Oh yeah, also, get your deal worked out with Boxee.  Installing these hacks is a pain in the butt and you’e not going to come out ahead by resisting.

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HBO Spares No Expense on New Web Series

I mean that literally.  HBO’s web series, set in an elevator, looks like it costs $5.00 per episode to produce.  At that’s a good thing since this is what you get:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVVb70pe9b0&hl=en]

Via Tilzy I learned:

“When he signed on to Runawaybox, Tondorf wanted to create a series “impossibly simple” to produce, a locked-frame, one-take show that could deliver a fresh episode every day.  “I thought that something from an elevator security camera might be a fun idea, seeing as we’re all trapped in a small box with people we don’t know for an amount of time, often dropping in on their conversations and having no idea what they’re talking about.”

Christ, people in the industry wonder why nobody is watching their content on the internet but they produce content that is so completely marginal and doesn’t look anything like the content they would offer on TV.  It doesn’t even look as good as most of the UGC stuff out there.

Why bother, HBO?