Hulu Content Available Only In The USA

When the internet became public property, civil libertarians hailed this as a step towards freedom in the media.  And it’s true, the burgeoning of blog sites like this one have contributed to the dissemination of opinions and information that have not ever been seen before en masse.

However, things may be beginning to change.  Video-sharing site Hulu.com has taken the protective step of making its site’s content available only in the USA.

This is what I got when last visited and clicked on a video:

This is, no doubt, a response to the large amount of litigation surrounding copyright issues and public video sharing.

This blocking of content could impact the uploading of employment video content if it’s unable to be played in international cyber space. For example if Youtube decided to take this stance then the ability to ad video to Seek job ads via a Youtube link would disappear.  And into what other areas will this censorship seep?

Back To The Future

For those of you who can’t be bothered watching this video, it’s a short film about Youtube in the mid-eighties. You remember those times? Big phones (bigger hair), beta and VHS tapes sent via snail mail, the person-to-person interaction required for any purchase…all that. This video speaks volumes about how many aspects of media have changed. Many aspects.

Then again – there are still a few media organisations running like this, and I’m referring particularly to print media. The way it operates is not unlike what is represented in this video…person-to-person interaction for every purchase, big phones, nonchalant telestaff who care more about their photos of Michael J. Fox than the customer. Well. Maybe not that last bit. Delete Michael J. Fox. replace with, say, Brad Pitt.

It’s an anarchic medium, print. And the sooner folks begin to direct more of their revenues, staffing contingencies and marketing into online, the more ready they will be for communication in the next decade.

I took this picture the other day while driving of a DeLorean. ( He wasn’t going 88 miles per hour yet).