Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Technology360: Cringely and Cuban are skeptical about do-it-yourself video and audio
Technology360: Cringely and Cuban are skeptical about do-it-yourself video and audio: "Cringely and Cuban are skeptical about do-it-yourself video and audio
Robert X. Cringely writes: 'The first time any reader asked me if I was planning to become a podcaster was October 29, 2004. That reader was specifically interested in video blogging, which he claimed would replace broadcast television, but he referred to it as 'podcasting,' so that still counts. Here is my reply: 'There is something that is being totally missed by these people and that's production values. Look at the viewership of cable access channels -- almost zip. And that's simply because the programming is so crappy. Money shows in TV and the more you spend per hour the better it looks, which is why people will still be watching network TV. Now there are exceptions. I like to think that my own stuff is generally better than it ought to be for the money involved, but I'm an exception. There will be other exceptions, too. But for the most part there WON'T be exceptions and most of the video bloggers will be blogging to themselves. I see this as growing to be at most three to five percent of the market. Now it can be a very important three to five percent, talking to a very valuable audience about very important topics, but it won't replace 'Seinfeld.'' Link: PBS.
Mark Cuban writes: '... You see, on the internet, there aren’t any hits. There aren’t any breakthrough shows. For every Live8, Victoria Secret, or other big net event, there are tens of thousands or more blips on the radar. It’s the ultimate long tail environment. � That’s not to say some didn’t survive. Those projects that are labors of love, rather than financially motivated can do well. If someone is into talking about health, pets, business, whatever and they do it because they love to do it, the reward is the show itself. � The point of all of this is not to talk about streaming. It’s to point out the obvious similarities between what happened with streaming in the 90s, and what is happening with Podcasting 10 years later. � Podcasting is hot. Podcasting is cheap and easy. Podcasting can be fun. � Creating your own podcast and trying to make a business out of it is a mistake. � Unless you are repurposing content from another medium, it will be rare to find anyone making money from originating podcasts. ...' Link: Blog Maverick."
Robert X. Cringely writes: 'The first time any reader asked me if I was planning to become a podcaster was October 29, 2004. That reader was specifically interested in video blogging, which he claimed would replace broadcast television, but he referred to it as 'podcasting,' so that still counts. Here is my reply: 'There is something that is being totally missed by these people and that's production values. Look at the viewership of cable access channels -- almost zip. And that's simply because the programming is so crappy. Money shows in TV and the more you spend per hour the better it looks, which is why people will still be watching network TV. Now there are exceptions. I like to think that my own stuff is generally better than it ought to be for the money involved, but I'm an exception. There will be other exceptions, too. But for the most part there WON'T be exceptions and most of the video bloggers will be blogging to themselves. I see this as growing to be at most three to five percent of the market. Now it can be a very important three to five percent, talking to a very valuable audience about very important topics, but it won't replace 'Seinfeld.'' Link: PBS.
Mark Cuban writes: '... You see, on the internet, there aren’t any hits. There aren’t any breakthrough shows. For every Live8, Victoria Secret, or other big net event, there are tens of thousands or more blips on the radar. It’s the ultimate long tail environment. � That’s not to say some didn’t survive. Those projects that are labors of love, rather than financially motivated can do well. If someone is into talking about health, pets, business, whatever and they do it because they love to do it, the reward is the show itself. � The point of all of this is not to talk about streaming. It’s to point out the obvious similarities between what happened with streaming in the 90s, and what is happening with Podcasting 10 years later. � Podcasting is hot. Podcasting is cheap and easy. Podcasting can be fun. � Creating your own podcast and trying to make a business out of it is a mistake. � Unless you are repurposing content from another medium, it will be rare to find anyone making money from originating podcasts. ...' Link: Blog Maverick."
