Wednesday, August 20, 2008

TV vs. The Internet

Last weekend I was in Carmel on vacation. I was quite proud of myself for not turning on the TV for the whole four days we were there. But then it quickly occurred to me that I did have Wi-Fi in the hotel room and I spent at least two hours each night on the computer either blogging, editing photos, or just surfing the web.

Stay at home moms used to have the reputation as one sitting in front of the TV watching soap operas and eating Bon Bons. That may not have been the case for most, but for many at least the TV was on.

Now there is a new distraction in the home (and at the office!). The Internet. Web 2.0 as some call it, is where you can live a very social life while doing your household chores, taking care of the children, or even while at work. Facebook, email, blogging, and chat rooms are a way to interact with real life people you know or even don't know all over the world. On TV you see people you only wish you could know, but the internet you can meet someone new every day.

When I first got internet in my home some 10 years ago I described it to my friends as being like a TV with a 1,000,000 channels and nothing on. Well, now there's something on. In fact, wether it's legal or not, YouTube has EVERYTHING of significance that has been on TV from the last few hours to the past 20 years! Almost any event you can remember seeing on TV, can be quickly found on YouTube. A friend of mine told he used to have a crush on a girl in a Capri Sun commercial form the early '80s. Guess what? She's on YouTube:



How can TV compete? I wish I had an answer, but in my home it simply can't. I am a media centric person. I have a 9 foot wide screen in the living room. I have spent thousands upon thousands on A/V gear in my home. Yet here I sit at the computer blogging.

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