Google Media

For anyone who is curious, Google owns the site that I am publishing too. Yes, Google owns Blogger, so I am in effect providing content, to one of if largest media organization in the world. BS you say? Google also owns YouTube, so it has both a print and video, news and entertainment component, if it had pod casts it would have radio, and therefore cover all three major types of media. Now if you look at the number of hits per day that Google run sites get, I am sure you’ll find it approaches the number of viewers that the major television networks get. However, the internet is worldwide and TV isn’t, so Google (and Yahoo) have a much larger potential audience then any other media outlet.
Now you might be thinking well TV-based internet failed miserable, but this is internet-based TV, and people are already use to staring at a monitor 8+ hours a data, so if staring at the monitor a couple more hours a day can entertain and inform too, then why not? Internet TV is on demand, so you can watch what you want when you want; no more timeslots that doom shows to failure. Plus, who has time for a half to full hour show anymore? Think of it, a 15 minute show that was on 4 times a week, you could watch them all at once or bit by bit as you got time.

A couple of suggestions for Google, since I already work for them (see above about my providing content). You (Google) should data mine your blog sites in semi-real time for people reporting potential news stories. If you are going to attract viewers you need to be able to provide novel content and not just rely on the AP. This requires in the field reporters, but since people on the ground in every city and town in the world are too expensive, you can just have them blog all the news and then pay people for the stories you decide to syndicate. (You’ll need to provide tools for them to this, but I’m sure you’ve got something in mind.) Furthermore, some stuff will be huge so you can use it as tip line and get professional news people involved when the situation calls for it.

The stuff you mine doesn’t even have to be news, because people love drama, and trust me I’ve read some blogs that are loaded with drama. I’m talking about the kind of stuff you can’t write. You’ve got a whole sitcom, soap opera engine writing scripts for you daily and all you’ve got to do is data mine it. Heck you data mine the YouTube videos for people who are good actors, (or news people) and live physically close, that you get together with a little cash and promise of internet fame, perhaps rent a community theater or open Google Studios in all the major metropolitan areas, throw in a script and you can start cranking out original content. The viewers select what they like by login on and you create hit shows for next to no money, by circumventing the whole movie/TV infrastructure.
Just remember when you start doing these kinds of things be sure you call it empowering the common people, cause if the anti-trust people start taking notice too early it will be harder to do this. Remember be very very careful in partnering with TIVO or one of the satellite TV companies, since if the traditional media figure out what you are trying to do, the anti-trust people will be the least of your worries.