Internet as a video-centric medium

When Walt Mossberg speaks or writes, a lot of people listen and read. So when Walt Mossberg says the internet is fast transforming from a text-centric medium to a video-centric medium, it carries some serious weight and echoes genuine consumer behavior. Walt was recently asked to speak about the rise of online video at a Beet.tv power event at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, DC and had some strong opinions (no surprise there) about the current state of video delivery on the web, and where it is headed. To put the emergence of video in some perspective, chew on this - in December 2007 there were more videos streamed online than searches performed. Yes, you read that correctly. Video overtook search in December '07 in U.S. volume. While revenues derived from online video are paltry today in comparison to search revenues, many see the writing on the wall - video advertising will eventually usurp television advertising and could overtake search advertising at some point as well.

Eisner predicted that within five years the internet will be as important content-wise as cable or satellite - Michael Eisner; ‘The Time Is Right’; Internet Content To Equal TV In 5 Years

Walt goes on to suggest that the broadcast business ie, television networks, Hollywood studios etc. are where the newspaper and magazine industry were 5 years ago. In other words, offline video creators, producers and distributors need to get serious about web video or watch their influence and revenues erode at an accelerated pace going forward.

The dailypixel.ca Network has been serious about online video from our inception - it's in our DNA and it's a big part of our overall network strategy. For dailypixel, Video.ca is a public-facing Canadian-focused video sharing community that offers Canadians a high-quality avenue to gain exposure in Canada. We cross-promote Video.ca videos across many properties in our network and that effort will continue to increase and expand as we grow our network (ie, Toronto videos from Video.ca are showcased on CityGuide.ca/Toronto etc.). For emerging artists, musicians, and businesses - Video.ca has increasingly become a multi-property distribution platform to reach a more Canadian-focused audience. In addition, businesses are also starting to get wind of the SEO advantages of the Video.ca name - if you want your Canadian video discovered and viewed, uploading to Video.ca can help (ie, most people include the word 'video' when doing a Google search for a video topic or title). While Video.ca is a consumer video delivery medium like YouTube, it is also an essential backbone for our emerging web service offerings across our entire network. For example, Canuck.ca leverages Video.ca to offer Canadians free video classified ads. Video.ca is also a key component to our upcoming expanded web service offerings on Sell.ca (launching verrrry soon), CityGuide.ca, Bargain.ca, Bid.ca, and more. For us, Video.ca is a true network 'app' not just a YouTube-like web site.

Exciting times for video on the web, and for Video.ca. Watch the full Walt Mossberg commentary below.

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Internet as a video-centric medium

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