" What concerns me most of all is that we really need companies like
> Revision3 to succeed. The independent content creator, and in turn,
> independent production companies and studios, are really being
> overshadowed by the efforts of the Hollywood studios and entertainment
> conglomerates. For example, look at the lineups at Digital Hollywood
> and the NewTeeVee Live conferences -- there was a terrible lack of
> independent content creators sitting on panels alongside people from
> LucasFilm and Hulu."

This is a major concern I have too, maybe the biggest issue on the table.

I don't really think of Revision3 as independent. They are "new", like a new
cable station,
but they have been trying to emulate an old model of TV and they are owned now
by
investors, so their #1 mission is likely to sell to a mainstream entity. This is
going to be an
uphill battle if rumors are true that this setback happened not due to an
economic
meltdown, but because they did not receive their next, anticipated round of
funding.

In case anyone didn't notice, the people who you tend to think of as
independent, like
Kevin Rose, for instance, has no control whatsoever over the company and
apparently no
say even. From his blog post, we can infer that he didn't even know about the
layoffs until
he was told by Jim, without discussion. Maybe Kevin should be more involved,
that might
help. Not sure.

Nevertheless, setting aside Rev3, what is starting to happen is that Hulu and
iTunes for
instance are becoming so popular, that they are starting to control the
programming for
the masses. ***Hulu is a place where MOST people are not allowed to
distribute.*** Same
old game as before. Because Hulu is becoming so popular, it's starting to divide
and this is
destructive not only for independents, but for the future of media in general.
Why cant
Hulu continue to curate their favorite content in the same way, but allow anyone
to
distribute on a back channel like iTunes? Probably because they believe in a
business
model that will not include open and democratic media. It's their right to be
closed, but
it's a decision that hurts the world for no gain and its gross.

When people say things like Hulu is for "professional" content while YouTube is
for "User
Generated Content", the world is suffering even more and becoming further
divided by a
stark line between the two.

The biggest threat of all is coming in tandem as Comcast started capping
internet plans.
Anyone who says this wont effect how much we can do online is naive. Their first
cap-
plan structure seems somewhat uninhibited right now but this doesn't mean they
wont
start tweaking the cap amounts once everyone accepts the reality in due time.
While its
easy to compete with CBS and Disney because now we use the same open
distribution
channels, it will be hard to compete with Verizon and Comcast, due to the amount
of
overhead needed to build out an alternative system. My hope is that a teenager
will
singlehandedly invent a new way to transfer data faster, without fiber - one
that may cost
almost nothing in terms of technological infrastructure. I'm certainly not going
to sit
around and wait for that to happen.

What's to be done? At least a few things, I think:

#1 Four years ago, I promoted the idea of saving up your coins for a year,
buckling down,
and investing in your own video company for a year. At the time, I thought a
year would
be enough but didn't understand how long it would take for a supportive
marketplace to
arise. Now, I'd say is an even better time to do it. If you can spend a year,
starting right
now, you may have an advantage due to a weak marketplace and the continuing
growth in
online audience demand. The market may be much stronger in a year when you are
ready
to monetize. If you can't do that, join another team who can.

#2 Find the talent, dont assume you are the talent. This may be the biggest
problem the
independents suffer from. If you think you are really good on camera, there is
probably
someone who could do the job better. If you think you are a great story teller
and that
tons of people will enjoy your writing, you might be fooling yourself. Build a
creative team
of people who you think are better than you.

#3 Start an iTunes/Hulu/Joost competitor. We know you dont need any overhead. A
few
talented programmers and UI developers should find a very open space. I remember
before iTunes came out with their podcasting client, Rocketboom was getting
slammed by
literally 1000's of new and experimental audio and video distribution
aggregators, most of
which quickly faded away post-iTunes. It seems like there is room again for a
new spirit
and a better interface.

#4 Be careful about the conversations you have: dont let this separation become
more
defined. Bring it all together in a way that people understand this is about
democracy,
choice and personalized content. This is where conferences hurt us if no one is
there to
discuss this. This is where Hulu viewers hurt us because they are closing their
doors on
things outside of their comfort zone. It starts with the lingo from us, then the
bloggers,
then the journalists, then the first adopters and then it becomes stuck
everywhere else.
Speak up before it's too late!


--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, "Steve Woolf" <swoolf@...> wrote:
>
> I just wanted to chime in here and thank everyone for so much support.
> We've always said that if it wasn't for the people in this group
> supporting us right out of the gate in June 2006, we wouldn't have
> ever made it past the first few months. So we really appreciate it.
>
> We were saddened to find out about Rev3's decision to make such wide
> and deep cuts in their programming and personnel, but we were not
> surprised. There were internal signs that they were going to need to
> make these kinds of moves, we just didn't expect them so quickly.
>
> What concerns me most of all is that we really need companies like
> Revision3 to succeed. The independent content creator, and in turn,
> independent production companies and studios, are really being
> overshadowed by the efforts of the Hollywood studios and entertainment
> conglomerates. For example, look at the lineups at Digital Hollywood
> and the NewTeeVee Live conferences -- there was a terrible lack of
> independent content creators sitting on panels alongside people from
> LucasFilm and Hulu.
>
> As for us, we are going to keep making EPIC FU on a regular schedule
> and distributing everywhere. We'll be with Rev3 through December, and
> after that we'll be on our own barring something unforeseen. There
> will be shows and companies that are going to go away permanently
> during this time, but hardship always brings innovation and
> creativity, so I hope we can all persevere and find a way to keep
> supporting each other.
>
> I'm personally looking forward to the next few months and assessing
> some new opportunities and ideas of our own. :)
>
> Steve
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Irina <irinaski@> wrote:
> >
> > shit i go visit my father in offline deep maryland for four days and
> just
> > got back
> >
> > maybe i should have stayed off line....
> >
> > grrr
> >
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 3:29 PM, danielmcvicar <danielmcvicar@>wrote:
> >
> > > Steve and Zadi inspired me to make the crossover to the world of
> > > online video and I am always in their debt. We will see many great
> > > things from them...like we have come to expect. Including keeping
> > > their community active. That is hard and worthwhile work.
> > > D
> > >
> > > --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com
> <videoblogging%40yahoogroups.com>,
> > > "Kent Nichols"
> > >
> > > <digitalfilmmaker@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com
> <videoblogging%40yahoogroups.com>,
> > > "Heath" <heathparks@> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > Just saw this now, probably a bit of old news for some, but sad
> > > > > nonetheless....Steve and Zadi are great people and I am sure this
> > > is a
> > > > > kick in the gut in many ways...
> > > > >
> > > > >
> http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/10/27/revision3-cuts-back-on-shows-and-
> > > > > staff/
> > > > >
> > > > > Hopfully Steve and Zadi knew about this before hand and were
> making
> > > > > some deals..
> > > > >
> > > > > Heath
> > > > > http://batmangeek.com
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > Yeah it really sucks. I can't think of people more decent or hard
> > > > working than Steve and Zadi. I'm just at a loss. :(
> > > >
> > > > -K
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > http://geekentertainment.tv
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>