Slashdot reports, “Video Distribution Platform Aiming to Kill TV.” The Participatory Culture Foundation (a new funded non-profit organization) is embarking on an open-source project to create a new platform for internet television and video.
While this effort may not kill television as we know it, my summary follows of it a simple equation: Bittorrent + RSS = Next Step in Video Publishing.
Take the power of distributing via Bittorrent technology, which disseminates the file-serving costs throughout the network, as opposed to on the back of the publisher. Then add the power of RSS in syndicating the content through a standard reception channel. The combination of these two creates a solid platform for true many-to-many video publishing. On the consuming end, while it’s not exactly as simple as turning on the TV and watching anything you could ever wish for, this project is taking a step in the right direction.