Will Web TV be Successful? Hard to tell with all the gatekeepers in place.

One would like to think that the web is still an open and venturesome place where knowledge and new ideas push the boundaries of what already is.

I think THE WORD that I will be referring to time and time again over the next 12 months is going to be.....transition - and possibly patience :). Technology and innovation is pushing traditional thinking into transitional phases. Some industries are moving forward while others (like education) seem to be stuck in a void at the moment...although this may be more due to "gatekeepers" and Victorian thinking more than anything else.

Web TV is an interesting evolution and one to watch over the next 12 months. Web TV is on the scope of many companies at present. Some have already entered the market while others are still product testing.

Hop over to Adobe Labs to test out the Adobe Media Player (read previous blog entry....). The reason for my query on the fate of Web TV is a beta for Hulu that I had signed up for. I had my beta password sent to me this weekend and sat down this afternoon to give it a go and view some of my favourite shows.

As I logged in and viewed the list I quickly picked out a couple that I wanted to view....click....player opens....message appears: "Unfortunately this movie is not available in your country or region. We apologize for the inconvenience." Okay, this will probably only happen for a couple of shows, I told myself.

Click, click, click, click --> no love on any of the shows.


First thought....let's email the folks at Hulu and let them know that when they are running a beta - make sure you invite those people that can actually participate :(

Second thought....how will other companies work around this? How will companies hit that global market with all of the gatekeeping that will occur? I don't want to watch reruns! Do we need to throw our LCDs out the window and yell "we aren't going to take it anymore!" (Okay, pretty hard to do with a 42inch plasma....but you get my drift). Television in the Southern Hemisphere is not the most exciting at the best of times....one can only watch so many reruns of Will and Grace.

As geographic boundaries are closed by digital bridges - new business models need to be developed.

With the advent of laptop programs for developing countries now coming to fruition. In the next 12 months there will be a connectivity greater around the world than ever before. Web TV has a huge potential for sharing of knowledge and learning......I guess that even though the web is an "open" source and new innovations and knowledge highways are being created throughout the web......the gatekeepers are still thriving!