I Hope This Finally Kills Conventional Television

Say hello to Joost (pronounced 'juiced'). I've been reading some great reviews about the software supporting user controls and interaction. Developed by the founders of Skype and Kazaa, Joost is essentially a piece of software that supports an interactive television service allowing for the distribution of TV shows and other forms of video content over the Internet via a peer to peer technology. A few weeks ago Viacom (MTV, BET, Paramount Pictures etc.) entered into an agreement to provide their content through Joost and more agreements with big time content producers will surely follow. Joost has been in beta testing mode since December but it should be available to everyone sometime this Summer. I'm super jealous after reading many of the reviews beta testers have been putting out about the software. Despite the complaints about the current content, some of the user controls include: channel chat, integration with Google Talk and user ratings/reviews. But, my favorite talked about feature has to be the ability in allowing users to search for shows and create personalized channels only involving specific content they are interested in. Advertising for Joost is currently set to be a traditional style which I'm skeptical about being that it's probably my biggest beef with tv right now. We'll have to wait and see how that pans out. All in all, this seems like it could be a hit a here's why. YouTube has been a great success, no 1.65 billion questions about it, but the reality is that traditional broadcast is not going away and it rightfully shouldn't. Giving your audience total control like YouTube has done, still results in limitations. I can't tell you how many times of had my cursor blinking in the YouTube search bar trying to think of something to watch and look up. User controls, accessibility and on demand are the attributes that make YouTube so great.  At the end of the day, a television audience still wants to be entertained, sometimes that can mean interaction, but millions of Americans come home every night, kick their feet up and instead of "tune in" they want to "tune out". Joost will no doubt capitalize on the choice factor. If you want to "tune in" and even interact, the option is there. Lets be honest, the last time we as consumers were given choice when it came to television was with the advent of the remote control. It's about time we were finally empowered thank you very much. In the long run, it's this integration that will set Joost apart from other traditional platforms. If someone can get me in on beta testing for Joost, please drop me a line.