2006: The Year of Net Video
The end of every year always begs a quick recap summarizing what happened in the prior 12 months. For these past months: 2006 was the year of Internet Video
YouTube, blogs, and other forms of user-generated content were a major part of what happened in the land between media, entertainment and technology in 2006 but video led the way.
With activity from startups to conglomerates, somewhere during the course of the year user generated content more than passed in to the mainstream.
An advertisement in today’s Sunday newspaper solidifies just how far things have come. Dove, the decidedly non-cutting-edge maker of soaps, called for people to go online and submit a homemade 30-second TV spot for Dove’s newest product. The winning video spot will be aired during a commercial break in the Academy Awards in February.
The tagline for the ad: “Be real. Go online. Get on air.”
Looking ahead, copyright issues and distribution competition may continue to slow the availability of (legally) downloadable full length movies and video (and cause legal headaches for major players like YouTube who get trapped in copyright issues) .
But, looking back, with user generated content, outtakes and shorts leading the way: the impact of Internet Video during the past 12 months was unmistakable.
