The Future of VOD

Taking a day off today -- trying to get caught up on life in general.  It's nice to get an opportunity to regroup.

I was flipping through TV channels this morning, and I was underwhelmed at the development of Video On Demand.  VOD has pretty much remained the same over the past 2 years.  There are some programs that are available, movies, music videos.  But it seems really archaic all of a sudden.

There were a lot fewer music videos -- especially by new artists -- than there should be at this point.  There are also few actual programs than I would expect -- and almost no advertising.

I really think VOD has the potential to revolutionize the travel industry.  Imagine if  you were planning a trip to Paris, and you could use a searchable VOD system and watch any travel program about Paris. There would be many options -- and you could learn all you ever wanted to learn about Paris.  Or a golf tour of Scotland.  Why is there not a "daytrips" section under travel of all the local B&B communities of where I can go spend a long weekend?

There are endless possibilities.  Local gyms could put video footage of some of their exercise classes.  Nike golf could be putting golf instructional videos on-demand as well as equipment features.

If you're a talented local musician, why wouldn't you video-tape yourself "in concert" and put the footage up on-demand?  The cost/reward would be well worth it, even if only a few people saw you and liked your music.

Why must I TiVo the Daily Show with Jon Stewart every night instead of just being able to watch it on-demand when I get around to it?  Would sure free up some DVR space for me..

I know that consumers have been slow to adapt to using VOD technology -- but I think advertisers are equally slow in moving toward VOD technology.  They'll get there...but in an info-on-demand society, making more content available for consumers in a more convenient way will be critical for success.   

Taking that leap of faith to on-demand shouldn't be that hard, and yet many companies struggle to do it.  Change is good...and necessary.