Advertising Age - Digital - Why Joost Isn't Just Your Average 'YouTube Killer'

I've just become a beta tester for Joost, so I'll be able to update my experiences to the blog. They have a seriously good pedigree behind then, having started both Kazaa and Skype prior to creating Joost. The download was surprisingly simple — it took me about 3 minutes to be up & running. I’ve been having some problems with my laptop running very slowly, so I’ll have to figure that out to really enjoying watching. But, it looks great and so far, it’s been pretty simple to use.

I’m watching my first show on the IndieFlix Premiere Hits network and, while I think the show is dragging, it’s working well. On longer pieces like the one I’m watching, you do get commercial breaks during the program, and the first one took me a few seconds before I realized that I had left the show. Once I understood the pattern, it didn’t really bother me at all. They don’t have a lot of programming yet — although I am watching Rocky & Bullwinkle now — but they’re working on a number of content deals that will make this format really work. It could also use some more descriptions of the channels, right now you kinda’ have to guess at some of them. But these will be minor squabbles in the future.

Looking forward to exploring Joost more.

You get home from a long day at work, flop down on the couch, crack open a cold lager and flip on the TV. Clicking through your own personal programming guide -- no more having to scroll past endless movie channels or cooking networks you've never watched -- you settle on a surfing show. A massive wave forms and you shoot your brother an instant message: "watch this." He clicks on it and instantly is synced with the program you're watching.

Here's the catch: the video stream isn't coming from Comcast or DirecTV, it's coming from Joost, one of the latest entrants into the online video market -- and a service for which the cliche "YouTube killer" has been commonly applied. But it's more likely to become a cable-company killer. While YouTube has become a repository for Long Tail user-generated content, Joost is looking to distribute professionally created content.

Link: Advertising Age - Digital - Why Joost Isn't Just Your Average 'YouTube Killer'.

Link: Kazaa’s Creators Do Latest Venture by the Book - New York Times.

Comments

[Scilla Andreen - IndieFlix]

I too am a beta tester mostly because it is my life to discover, rate, recommend and use all of the new technologies emerging to distribute independent film. It took me a moment to realize I had left the show. I thought maybe the film had stopped streaming but then the ad started. The volume was louder just as on television but it was short and there was only one ad shown at that moment not a long stream of endless ads. So I was fine with it. I also recognized that filmmakers are being paid a share of the ad revenue every time it runs so I was pleased to know that our filmmakers were making money even in a beta version. I also realized we need to take a little more consideration when figuring the Ad insertion points in the content. Being a filmmaker myself is of utmost importance to not toggle or interrupt the flow of the film.
Scilla Andreen
Co-Founder IndieFlix
IndieFlix Premiere Hits Channel - Joost