Live reporting mashup - during the recent demonstrations in Denmark, a local company did a nice "live" coverage - mixing input from text messages (and some mobile images) with Google Maps [from Poynter]. A nice and new way to use the pop-ups, even if it probably had to be done manually based on user input. With more mobile phones getting gps - this might make for some really interesting coverage of both current events and travel advise down the road.
Pay to see it all - "If you pay for the highest quality of service, you will get unimpeded service for digital TV delivery" a CNet piece on the next-gen network from NTT in Japan, brings up some interesting possibilities - especially if it was able to offer instant changes, say $2 extra for high(est) quality during an important football match. Or differentiation for different channels - I'd pay for full quality for certain niches (disney and discovery... geeky? And proud of it!), but the rest are just time sinks and could just as well be low fi.
Or get paid - another good piece from the C3 blog, on future models for VOD (video on demand), with both ads and general subscriptions as possible viable business models. And it makes a lot of sense - VOD is changing from a small niche offering into a way of watching video content in general - so why shouldn't the two main models for television as we know it be applicable? Advertisers want attention, and targeted groups. And we as consumers want television at a reasonable cost - be it in terms of time (ads) or money.
Pass it around - the assorted "convergent" web offering such as Joost and the new Adobe player represent a new niche for content large and small, with very different approaches to the "guy with a camera" market. Azereus (10 mill d/l) is opening up - while Joost (50k/weekly unique) opens the API but not the content flow. (And here I'm talking about convergent in a tech sense, mixing streaming and p2p, downloads and subscriptions, into something new and different)
And share with a friend or 500 - the Facebook express (350k in Norway, of 4.6 million people) is still gaining speed and attention, with "over 350 million installations across 5,268 applications on the site" [SFN] for their application development program. Not to forget that online useage is often done with TV in the background anyway
Now combine the new options for video with the options for broad business models - and things might start to look a lot different. The main question is how many more years it will take. Probably more than we expect now, but less than it seemed when we look back...
...and the sun brings out the colors of fall on the trees...
