IP Democracy: Pulver on VON's Shift to Video

VoIP pioneer Jeff Pulver created a publishing and conference, not to mention VoIP, empire with the launch of VON ten years ago. At the time, VON stood for voice-on-the-net, but in this interview with the LA Times’ James Granelli, Pulver says he’s switching the focus of VON to video-on-the-net.

The next wave of disruption I see is going to be the broadcasting industry. It’s really hard to ignore the fact that the Internet has become a medium that absolutely will redefine the way we communicate, and can now come in as a substitute or replacement for broadcast.

He predicts that in ten years’ time, only about one-third of us will watch video en masse the way we do now.

The Internet is good enough now to use as an alternative way to watch television. Ten years from now, I’m guessing that only 30% to 35% of the time will people be having a shared common experience watching something while it’s live, whether it’s the Oscars or the Super Bowl or, God forbid, some natural disaster. We’re becoming a time-shifting, place-shifting society. If there’s a television series you like, the broadcasters will help you schedule it. You could watch it according to them, or you could go to some place on the Internet and download it now for viewing when it’s convenient for you.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on April 15, 2006 9:51 PM to IP Democracy