One of my favorite parts of Hulu is that it’s halfway to the video grammar in which I hope our culture gets to participate. What do I mean by that? Well, imagine the ability to take bits and pieces of video content and mash it up to create new stuff. How cool would that be?
It starts with the ability to share discrete portions of content. With Hulu, we can do that. Check out this bit of The Office. I selected the scene at pretty much random, but it shows how discrete units can be shared:
http://www.hulu.com/embed/5wxxSMNLXPxMi6RnYpkjqw
This is a big step.
“Unfortunately this video is not currently available in your country or region. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
🙁 nmw
Except that it’s only viewable in the US, which means 95% of your audience can’t see what you’re talking about.
clearly it’s a strike against youtube. one of the major advantages of youtube versus tv network sites is that you could find just one particular scene from a show instead of having to view an entire episode. this negates that advantage to some extent (though not entirely as the clips/scenes would have to be shared elsewhere and not right on the hulu site)
I also can’t see it… I’m from Holland! I know the Office though, especially the original UK version is hilarious!
It is great that they allow you to embed specific clips, but it is still a long way from being able to “mash it up” with other pieces of video content. Still, a big step in the right direction.
I care less about the mashups and more this being a potential replacement to my $12.95/month Tivo and $2 iTunes shows.
Well, imagine the ability to take bits and pieces of video content and mash it up to create new stuff. How cool would that be?
John,
In reference to your excitement about video mashups, perhaps you should have a look at the Annodex technology – it enables exactly the kind of video mashup you’re talking about. You can find examples of this in a recent talk by Shane Stephens at Linux.conf.au. Note that Shane is now working for Google, so who knows, maybe some of this functionality may eventually find its way into YouTube?
Or, following up on my own comment, have a look at MetaVidWiki, a plugin for MediaWiki that does some of what you describe (and more!). You can read an overview of its capabilites to get a taste of its functionality.
Granted, some of these solutions are not as polished as Hulu, but the technology is absolutely out there to implement your vision today.
Hulu could be a good rival for YouTube, however the main disadvantage of it is that not all countries support it. I’m a regular Hulu viewer but when I was traveling to Holland, I couldn’t watch it. And as for YouTube, you can watch it just everywhere you want.
Internet radio player