The Search for Spock

While researching the topic of personalization in the new media world, I came across Mark Cuban’s blog entry from almost a year ago, on finding content in an unlimited video on demand world. It’s tough enough to get viewers to tune in, with linear channels, where (a) viewers are constantly reminded what show is coming next, and (b) some channels, particular on cable, specialize in certain type of programming (ala HBO, FX, Food). What happens when the viewers have to fend for themselves?

At NATPE this past January, one constant point rehashed in most panels was video discovery in this age of plenty. Technology can help with the platform distributions (ie Brightcove) by setting up metadata for video search engines (ie Blinkx). But then, who is assigning the metadata and why should they be trusted? This is where the “wisdom of crowds” is called upon. Similar to the recommendation engines for online media (iTunes), books (ala Amazon) and DVD rentals (ie Netflix), which both draw from databases of reviews and recommendations from other users, a video consumer would then need a personalized video search engine to tell them what they would want to watch: certain genres or topics of their interests plus new, random & unexpected clips that might pique their interest too.

StumbleUpon, a browser toolbar that helps user find interesting website to stumble onto, is extending that model to online video. While it is addicted as it is now just to discover interest videos, imagine what they can do, if they finetune their “recommendations” to find me what I (and others like me) would like to watch.

Now, imagine if your video search & recommendation engine is portable across all three screens, TV, online & mobile. Personalize once, propagate everywhere. Now, I’d be total control of my video consumption, wouldn’t I? A TV Guide on steroids.