The Line Between The Internet & Television Begins To Blur

Once upon a time, right here at this little blog of mine, I made mention and gave props to a fledgling cable network called 'The Tube." It was the only TV network in this age of new information and new media that continuously played music videos. Well, they folded a couple of years ago due to financial difficulties.

In the middle of this year during my obsessive viewership of the Presidential primaries, I tuned into "Current TV"
This is a description off their website:

Since its inception in 2005, Emmy award-winning Current TV has been the world's leading peer-to-peer news and information network. Current is the only 24/7 cable and satellite television network and Internet site produced and programmed in collaboration with its audience. Current connects young adults with what is going on in their world, from their perspective, in their own voices.

With the launch of Current.com, the first fully integrated web and TV platform users can participate in shaping an ongoing stream of news and information that is compelling, authentic and relevant to them.

Current pioneered the television industry's leading model of interactive viewer created content (VC2). Comprising roughly one-third of Current's on-air broadcast, this content is submitted via short-form, non-fiction video "pods". Viewer Created Ad Messages (VCAMs) are also open to viewer's participation.

Current's programming ranges from daily pop culture coverage to political satire in "SuperNews," unprecedented music journalism in "The Current Fix," and unique insights into global stories through Vanguard and Citizen Journalism.

Yeah, that's what it is.

Interesting.

Innovative.

Interactive.

I should contact their marketing department and sell them that. :-)

And here's where it is on your TV:

• channel 358
  directv
• channel 196
  dish network
• channel 107
  comcast
• channel 189
  at&t u-verse
• check listings
  time warner

Television : All Hail Grand Pixelated God

The title of this post, "Television : All Hail Grand Pixelated God" is a direct quote of the opening lyrics to the Aesop Rock track, "Basic Cable"
I couldn't think of a more expressive and more suitable header for this entry.
Back in the day - in the ol' 20th Century, TV watching was an event. For the millions who followed the primetime Dallas, you were there in your living room at night, tuning in, waiting to see the drama unfold. The same rules applied to sitcoms: Seinfeld, which was and still is an institution to many, bolstered NBC's Thursday night lineup. The network that once sloganeered the 'Be There' concept took it a step further to become 'Must See TV Thursday' which was a few hours of prime programming.
And now, in the digital information age you can watch your favorite shows on a few different mediums. There's cable OnDemand, webcasts, shit - you can even own a season of your show of choice on DVD, HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. No need to attempt taping a season on a handful of those clunky ancient VHS cassettes. The season discs for sale even come packed with a bunch of extras.
So whoever thought television - the drug of a nation, might lose the fight to the interactivity of the web was half-right. Reality television, strangely enough still attracts a grip of viewers, even though it is everything but realistic. FOX has a reality network out now to even out its broadcasting conglomeration with its news and whether networks. Whether a series lasts on FOX1 is determined by Jack Bauer.
Advertisers pump an incredible amount of money into everything you see on television, so the century old medium is not going anywhere anytime soon. Yet technological innovations like TiVo and DVRs make it much more pleasant to watch. Fast forward through commercials you don't want to waste time seeing and keep the show in the queue in case someone else in the house didn't get around to see it.
Sometimes I flip on the TV and after scouring through a few hundred different channels, there is really nothing on - and these new mediums make it much easier
to sit back and indulge.