The other day in a program on BBC Radio that discussed the future of TV and Internet broadcasting there was a very brief snippet of a conversation with someone from nextnewneworks. I'd never heard of the company before, but it's apparently a startup based out of New York that is trying to develop online video programming for micro-niche markets. Essentially, they find people who can make fairly decent web video programs that target very specific interest categories. Sometimes these interests are a bit off-beat, but perhaps that's the point. Rather than trying to offer a single programming lineup of very standard fare to the public, they aim for specific interest groups through multiple "networks."
nextnewnetworks definitely represents an attempt at being a Web 2.0 company, including social networking to some extent. Check out the following from their "about us" page:
Our aim is to be of the communities, as each network is populated by key creative people of the audiences they serve. In other words, we want our networks to go where the audiences that share an interest are, whether it's their blog, a friend's profile page, or wherever they go regularly to find more of the things they love.
Check out their site for more information in general about the company. What follows is my preliminary evaluation.
First, I only found one "network" on their site that vaguely interested me, which was Indy Mogul. They claim to have 101 networks (only a handful are online so far), so it's possible that I'll eventually find something in the mix that I like. If they are aiming for a broad audience with specific content on multiple networks, they will obviously need to have a lot of networks to do the job.
Second, I'm not sure how they do anything better than YouTube or other video content providers. Perhaps quality control? Some features are noticeably absent with this service. Looking around the main site and adjoining networks I couldn't find any way to embed videos, so either that won't be a possibility or they haven't developed the means to do it yet. Having an embed option seems indispensable, especially if they are going to try to do what they promise on their site in the way of social networking and interconnectivity.
Third, I assume they are going to be ad supported. With so much competition and a weak economy, this may not be the best business model for the times. Then again, if they offer something better than anyone else, they'll get the business and things will go well. From the looks of the site and the minimal number of ads I'd say they're still burning through investor dollars.
Though I may seem critical in what I've written, I actually think nextnewnetworks has quite a bit going for it. The gentleman from the company (sorry, I didn't catch his name or title) who was interviewed by the BBC made a good case. He explained that his generation was content with three major networks, while the succeeding generation embraced cable and viewed those new channels as essentially equal to the "three major networks." The present generation is migrating to the web, viewing content online and "on demand" rather than in a fixed lineup via television. Social interaction is being thrown into the mix, demanding a very different approach to video content delivery.
nextnewnetworks may wind up being yet another failed startup, or it could turn out to be a cutting edge means to reach and retain viewers. Either way, they are work a look.
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