The Jeff Pulver Blog: From V(oice)ON to V(ideo)ON: September 11-14 2006 in Boston

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June 26, 2006

From V(oice)ON to V(ideo)ON: September 11-14 2006 in Boston

It should be no surprise to anyone at this point that I have been exploring the inevitable disruption brought on by Internet-delivered video.

Ten years ago, when I first launched and coined VON, I did intend it to stand for both "Voice" and "Video" on the Net. At the time, however, Moore's Law, computing power limitations, the paucity of broadband, the lack of user-created content, copyright issues and content control, meant that "Video on the Net" would remain on the distant horizon for many years to come. As early as 1994 I first played around with CU-SeeMe and in the mid 90's I was an avid user of the early streaming media technologies…and in February, 1998 I flew out to LA and I did try producing "Video on the Net" for the first time...but I was way too early for the emerging and developing market space.

Well, we have reached the horizon (and see a new horizon before us). A new opportunity waits. It is a time for all of us - from the people who were responsible for Voice over IP, to the content producers and distributors, to the portal providers and owners, to the software and hardware developers, to the media conglomerates themselves -- to recognize this reality and to embrace it as soon as possible, or risk losing out in a BIG way in this wave of the media revolution.

I believe the VON community is a great springboard to cross-pollinate with the existing and emerging thought-leaders in the media space to build the Video on the Net industry. We have a lot to learn from one another. The Video on the Net players will have much to learn from the seminal policy work of the VoIP industry, policies that will undoubtedly encroach upon the policy structure for the emerging Video on the Net industry and policies which at time will challenge the status quo in the broadcasting and cable space. The Video on the Net players will also have a lot to learn from the evolution of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) communications that the Voice on the Net folks have been perfecting in recent years. And the Voice on the Net players will have a lot to learn from the most creative types in the media world, who have been transforming Internet-delivered content into high art (and a fair share of compelling low-to-middle brow content, which also and obviously has its place in our on-going cultural revolution as well).

I'm particularly looking forward to delving deeper into the revolution occurring WITHIN the traditional media empires. Unlike the telecom world, where most of the disruption came from the bottom-up from small start-ups with great vision rather than from within, I suspect that the media powerbrokers of tomorrow will take a more pro-active top-down approach than the worldwide incumbent phone companies did to advance the media/communications/interactive revolution.

I am also looking for us within the Voice and Video on the Net communities to evolve the sophistication of our policy thinking in a pretty profound way over the next few months. The Voice over IP providers have been fighting for years to protect Internet communications from the regulatory quagmire. I like to think that the Video on the Net providers will become beneficiaries of our early policy fights. While we have not won all the battles, we at least have learned how to engage government. I am convinced that the emerging Video on the Net space should, at least, learn from our success ... and our mistakes.

The questions we will have to confront are innumerable, but, under the principle that "nothing is impossible," I have humbly taken the liberty to enumerate some of my preliminary questions:

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Is there a "right" regulatory framework to guide the emerging "video-over-IP" industry?

What are the evolving relationships between incumbents and video-over-the-Net ventures?

What are the technologies available for getting video from the net to your computer/TV in a user-acceptable manner?

Is Internet-delivered video ready for prime time or still the domain of the early adopter?

What is the importance of bridging the gap to mass consumer acceptance?

What effect will a possible WIPO treaty on Webcasting have on the speed and quality of innovation in the disruptive video space and user-created content?

What are the potential privacy concerns and copyright risks on the horizon?

What is the future of citizen journalism and personalized Video?

What are the implications of the net neutrality debate on disruptive video - the global implications, the business risks and opportunities?

What is the state of program acquisition for the fledgling industry, particularly the evolution from clip-based services to providers of cable-quality on demand and serial programming?

What are the likely impacts of video-over- the-Net on existing affiliate arrangements?

What might be the reactions from existing multichannel video distributors?

Do we even have any ideas what this world could look like in five years?

Who's really setting the agenda for video on the Net? Who are the top power players who will be setting the stage for Video on the Net business and advocacy in Washington and around the globe?

Will Apple be compelled to open connectivity?

What are the possible limitations of MVNOs and other services getting a fair shake with the mobile TV carriers?

What can Video Search Engines Get Away with in linking to my video?

Will regulators go down the path of continuing to apply "service silo" regulation on Video over IP and regulate Video over IP like traditional video services, as government is increasingly doing to Voice over IP?

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I do hope to address and have some answers to these and more questions at Fall 2006 Video on the Net.

There is no doubt that Voice over IP providers have tested the regulatory waters for several years, but the policy arena is relatively new to the emerging disruptive video industry. We should explore as soon as possible whether there are lessons that Internet-delivered video might learn from the activities of the Voice over IP industry and some of the new and different complexities.

I am also convinced that the Video on the Net community has to join forces in our advocacy battles to ensure the best policy framework to protect and advance the Video on the Net industry, innovators, and enthusiasts. The price of advancing Video on the Net is effective community building and eternal vigilance.

Hope to see you in Boston the week of September 11th for Fall 2006 VON and the launch of Video on the Net.

Tags: Broadcast 2.0, Video on the Net, disruptive broadcasting, Jeff Pulver,