Notes from a wireframe world

I recently post on facebook that I think TV is shit and that the Internet is much better. And that I would pay a monthly subscription for access to streaming, on-demand video of my favorite shows.

A number of my friends where shocked by this, unable to believe that I thought that. Not that they think the Internet is devoid of content, just that they don’t see how it’s better than television.

So here is my analysis and an explanation as to why I feel the “New” media of the Internet is better than the “Old” media of TV.

Let me throw a couple of definition at you.

GS = Good stuff, a general term for good content either interesting web sites, or a good film or show, I’m only referring to good stuff for the user, and I’m not making any judgment as to what is good and what isn’t.

BS = Bad stuff, the opposite of Good stuff, stuff that is not of interest to the user.

For a typical user I’m making the assumption that for both Television and for the Internet GS/BS is the same (ie. There is the same percentage of good content on Television as on the Internet).

So if tv[GS/BS] = net[GS/BS] then their appears to be nothing in it, it makes no difference as to if you get your content from the internet or from television.

However this misses an important point about the difference between tv and the net, television is can only be accessed sequentially (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequential_access) and the internet is direct access (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_access) this means that for tv you are forced to watch shows when the suppler wants you to watch them, and (unless you risk copyright law, since recording a television program is in effect copyright theft (the Sony Vs. TV companys rulling hasn’t changed that fact)) can’t re-watch them unless your suppler allows you to (and again it’s at their direction as too when that is).

Also since TV is Sequential if you decide you wish to consume the media, you are forced to watch the BS until you get to the GS you want.

Yes I you can turn the television off, however I choose to consume the media at the time I have time to do so, and fundamentally that why the Internet is better than Television, because I can select what I want to watch in the limited time I allow my self to consume such media.

It was always a strange partnership, eBay and Skype. When eBay bought the payment gateway PayPal you could understand it, PayPal was the most used method of payment on eBay’s site, the accusation must have saved eBay millions, as well as providing a greater feeling of security for it customers.

But Skype? Don’t get me wrong, I love Skype, it’s VoIP service allows for free video conferencing but… what does it have to do with eBay’s core business? At the time eBay said it would allow customers to Skype each other, and so increase confidence while selling and buying via eBay… But skype wasn’t just another IM client, it’s always been something more.

Anyway the chickens have finally come home. Ebay paid $3.9 Billion to it’s founders four years ago, and now was paid £1.9 Billion by it’s original founders to sell it back to them.