What's On Your Pod?
By Neil Dodds
19 October, 2005
"You have to create new content for these new platforms. People behave differently when they're walking around with their iPod or a cellphone from when they're sitting on their couch with a clicker." - Gregg Spiridellis, of JibJab Media, in the International Herald Tribune.
UPDATE: 20 October - Well, that was quick. News reaches us that an "adult entertainment site" has already come up with porn videos designed for use on the week-old video iPod. Click more and scroll to the bottom of the article for details.
A few months ago, Proximity Vision wondered how the huge differences between screen sizes would affect converged media. Put simply, the kind of content you watch on an 80-inch plasma monster and what you can make out on a 1.5 inch mobile phone screen are very different. The plasma screen is ideal for sports and for Lord of the Rings-style epics, but the kind of screen found on a phone - or a 2.5 inch video iPod - is good for what?
According to CNN, the iPod's screen is already inspiring "outspoken commentators", religious broadcasters and pornographers.
Take one angry blogger, add podcasting, and you've got a controversial talk radio show. With a few more resources, bloggers brave enough to expose their faces to the waiting world can launch video careers - though there's no obligation to put yourself in front of the camera. Many bloggers with the perfect face for podcasting might prefer to splice images from elsewhere.
Relgious podcasts, or Godcasts, are also prime candidates for video. A member of the congregation need only film a sermon, format it and upload to allow distant worshippers to keep in touch with their faith community. Many Godcasters have shown more ambition than this straight-to-video strategy, however, so it's likely that religious video logging will become increasingly sophisticated.
However, CNN quotes a media analyst who remarks that creating interesting video content is "really hard." He's right: Filming and editing are skills beyond many home users, and even companies famous for creating user-friendly software have yet to come up with applications that make video easy. Organisations with greater resources will have a head start in video logging, then - though many churches have good funding, and/or are able to rely on skilled volunteers to assist with editing tasks.
The adult entertainment industry rarely misses an opportunity to target new formats. Indeed, it could be argued that pornography makes or breaks content technology. Several porn suppliers are formatting clips for mobile phones: IPods, with larger screens and created specifically to handle video downloads, will be more attractive still - if, that is, the industry can find an interface to distribute its material that is as simple to use as iTunes.
We wouldn't bank on Steve Jobs selling Chunky Cheerleaders 2 alongside films from Pixar and Disney on the iTunes store.
Do be careful clicking on the above adult content link if you are in a busy office. Which leads us to an obstacle in the way of the adult industry's drive for video domination. You can't watch porno on the subway or on a bus. Avid viewers will happily buy DVDs for their big screens at home, or feverishly download images to their home computers, but cranking up a porn-loaded iPod on your lunchbreak is not socially acceptable (yet).
However, the adult entertainment industry does have the advantage of not being so tied up with the copyrights, licensing and cross-border release schedules that have slowed mainstream video's move to the web.
The first thing to keep in mind about webcasting, however, is that it offers an opportunity. Like blogging, podcasting and internet publishing it empowers individuals by making it simple to publish and distribute news. Resourceful web publishers and bloggers stretched the boundaries of their media. Video logging is so new, and offers such a potential mix of visual, audio and text content, it's difficult to predict how users will exploit the new medium. Within six months, we predict there'll be much, much more than adult clips and music videos.
UPDATE: Wired reports that a porn company called PovPod is offering a series of free "adult" downloads on its site, which can be placed on iTunes and transferred to the video iPod.
In the adult industry, Pov means "point of view" (use your imagination). The link is not office friendly, obviously.
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