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Geoff Daily

App-Rising.com covers the development and adoption of broadband applications, the deployment of and need for broadband networks, and the demands placed on policy to adapt to the revolutionary opportunities made possible by the Internet.

App-Rising.com is written by Geoff Daily, a DC-based technology journalist, broadband activist, marketing consultant, and Internet entrepreneur.

App-Rising.com is supported in part by AT&T;, however all views and opinions expressed herein are solely my own.

Main | The Perfect Storm of Internet Video to the TV »

March 19, 2007 6:06 AM

Like Shrimp, It's All About the Tail

Welcome to the beginning of AppRising, a blog that mines the intersection of networks and applications. Keep up to date on the latest trends and better informed about where they point for the future as we continue to find new ways to leverage the power of broadband.

Join me as I explore the nexus of supply and demand created by evermore abundant broadband connectivity and bandwidth-hungry applications.

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In the latest episode of my ongoing quest to wed good food with all my professional relationships, I had the opportunity to chat with Bill Hornbeck, CEO of StreamerNet, over a plate of fantastic Black Pepper Shrimp at the Taste of Saigon in McLean, VA recently.

StreamerNet's sweetspot is enabling smaller scale events like concerts and lectures to stream video live or on-demand using nothing more than a camera, a broadband-enabled computer, and their desktop application called Mobile Video Producer. In particular, StreamerNet is focused on providing the tools necessary to monetize this content, so you can sell more tickets than a physical venue could hold and expand your audience to those who couldn't be in attendance.

You can look forward to an article on KillerApp.com about them soon, and we're excited to have Bill on board as a presenter at the Killer App Expo -- the only place to experience firsthand the full impact of broadband on all facets of society.

But back to my conversation with Bill. As we traded histories he made an interesting comment about how the trouble with being a futurist is that the market often isn't ready to buy into whatever you're trying to sell them. He continued on to cite that the biggest issues he faces when trying to grow his business involve educating potential customers about the value of online video and that not everyone who does online video is trying to be YouTube.

These thoughts got me thinking about where we're at with our adoption of the Internet as a whole.

The Internet is undoubtedly the fastest growing medium in the history of man, with broadband speeds and availability on the rise and a bevy of proven and practical applications standing at the ready.

Yet, much of the Internet's growth to date has been limited to early adopters, especially when it comes to more bandwidth-intensive applications. Many people still don't use the Internet at all, let alone things like videoconferencing and peer-to-peer filesharing. And confusion reigns in mainstream America about what this whole Internet thing is all about.

But the day when mainstream adoption of these more bandwidth-intensive applications is fast approaching. The meteoric rise of YouTube offers a perfect example of just how quickly this adoption can be realized once consumers become aware of an easy-to-use application that offers a clear value proposition.

What this all leads me to is that while much of what you'll find in this blog will deal with the newest, most bandwidth-intensive applications and what they need from the networks they run over, the trend that's arguably more important to keep an eye on when trying to understand future demand for bandwidth is consumer awareness and adoption of technology rather than the technology itself.

A pretty basic assertion, but one that too often gets lost amidst the excitement around new technology. And one that needs a brighter light shone on it as only by driving adoption across the Long Tail of users -- to usurp a defining analogy most often used in relation to the infinitely expandable library of content the Internet makes possible -- will we realize the ultimate goal of an economy and a country fully empowered by broadband and prepared to compete in the flattened world of the Digital Age.

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