There is word in the NYT (ok, I’m sure it’s elsewhere too but I just don’t have the energy to dig up the links) that Time Warner Cable (my monopoly-tastic super-over-priced NYC cable company) is planning to bring the internet onto the television. So says Chief Executive Glenn Brit:
“Within a relatively short time … it’s going to be very easy to get Internet TV on your big screen TV,” he said, estimating it would take between one to two years to popularize such technology already sold by the likes of Apple Inc.
I’m not totally clear on the difference between having the internet on my TV and “Internet TV.” Sounds like some sort of proprietary browser with limited access will be in play… still, for everyone claiming cable is going to lose to the internet might want to reconsider. Instead of a winner and a loser we’re just going to have more media in one place.
Oh, irony, you sweet mistress, you. TorrentFreak (via The Australian) is reporting that hundreds of pirated movie files were found on the computers of an Australian Police IT unit!
“If the officers do go unpunished, it could create a favorable precedent for filesharers in South Australia. If police officers, who are expected to be held to a greater level of accountability regarding the law, show this level of contempt for the current copyright laws, are unpunished, it will make it harder to convince a court that regular citizen should be punished for similar acts.”
This really could be one of the steps that forces legal systems around the world to rewrite their laws around copywrite. Imagine how many people would have to be prosecuted if anyone who ever downloaded or copied a “protected” file was actually found out.
There is a somewhat amusing post in one of the supposed titans of the advertising trade, AdWeek, in which the author breaks the news that digital media might threaten traditional TV! No way!
“Who would have believed that consumers would move away from listening to music on home and car stereos and toward personal music devices and computers? The same conventional wisdom about needing television to watch video content could be equally wrong. If you believe that watching TV is inherently social, or something that we are willing to do only in our living rooms instead of on our PCs or mobile phones, watch out! The music analogy proves that old habits can die fast, and consumers will likely embrace multiple screen sizes and formats for watching movies and television.”
It’s not that anything in this article is wrong but making it seem like new information honestly makes me worried for the industry as a whole.
If AdWeek, an industry leader, is just waking up to these issues maybe the industry really and truly is screwed.
Tilzy has a look at minor-internet-celeb Sarah Meyers and her new daily webshow Pop17.
“The daily, two- to three-minute show explores the cultural phenomenon that’s made Sarah’s career — micro-celebrity on the internet. ”
I took a look at it myself and I’ve gotta say it is totally promising. Sort of like the kid doing the vlog about World of Warcraft, this is not going to be a show for everyone, and that’s sort of the point.
As Sarah demonstrates in the first episode, many of the names and personalities I think of as “big” aren’t even known to the general public. Sure, some of them will cross over (she points out Tila Tequila) but many others will remain the internet version of “huge in Japan.”
Good luck Sarah!
I’ve mentioned before that I think one of the next big things will be anonymity. However, this campaign against Scientology is not quite what I meant. If you haven’t been following this, there is a very good recap over at NewTeeVee.
What is most surprising about this group is how much mainstream media attention they have generated. It will be interesting to see if this is something they are able to sustain or if it is really just another example of 15 seconds of internet fame.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCbKv9yiLiQ&rel=1]
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June 2, 2008 7:48 pm | 
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