We’re just about there. The point in time when Television morphs into something decidedly more than the big, black “idiot box” in the living room and into a truly on-demand, time-shifted, place-shifted portable entertainment wonderland for viewers. Think that’s too much hyperbole? Consider the following:
TiVo and similar personal/digital video recorders are now poised to tip, now that TiVo is aggressively going after subscribers and folks like Charter and DirecTV are heavily pushing their in-house boxes.
An entire generation is learning to enjoy short-form content online, a la eBaumsWorld.
Comedy Central is creating an entire broadband-only network, Motherload, full of original content to rival MTV’s Overdrive.
TypePad is integrating VideoEgg technology to their blogs, making everyone a vlogger. Networks are going to have to compete with individuals for eyeballs.
Google is making interviews with Emmy-winning producers/writers/directors available online with the blessing of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Video search is becoming a bigger and bigger priority every day.
And, most of all, that pesky video iPod might just change the economics of the television industry forever.
So it’s not just me and my conspiracy theories. The future is here.