I'm officially hooked on Current!

[BattyDem]

Yesterday, I gave Current a try a quite frankly, I was not impressed. It looked like cross between MTV and a Pepsi commercial, LOL! I turned it off after about 15 minutes.

But ... after seeing my man Al Gore on Leno last night, I decided to give it another try and this time, I stuck with it long enough to "get" it. It's REALLY addictive!

You know how it is when you watch a 30 minute show: they take FOREVER to get to the point and you have to sit through lots of commercials ... but Current has "pods" instead of programs and I love the them! It's as if someone took a program, cut out all the "filler" material (and the commercials) and gave us the most entertaining, informative part of the show.

My only complaint: I wish it had more "current" (pardon the pun) events related programming. They do have some pods about the culture of other countries (so far I've seen Japan and Iran) but I'd love to see some pods about world events, politics, etc. I know the network only launched yesterday, so hopefully, that kind of material will come eventually.

For those who don't know, Current's programming is created by average people. Anyone with a digital video camera can make a pod about any topic they want and submit it to Current for broadcast consideration. Imagine the possibilities! It's a wonderful way to educate the masses. Think about it ...

What if Will Pitt or Atrios or Brad Friedman (Brad Blog) did some political pods? (Are you listening, Will? ;-)) I'm not saying they should be used to bash the RW, but simply to educate everyone else. Perhaps it could be used to inform people about election fraud - not to accuse anyone of fraud, but to open people's eyes to the possibility so they will demand paper ballots. Maybe a talented DUer could do a pod about a political protest .. and expose the "free speech zones" for what they really are. I'd also love to see a pod by a soldier serving in Iraq or even an Iraqi citizen. The MSM won't give them airtime ... maybe Current will.

Damn, I wish I had a video camera, LOL!

[AlGore-08.com]

1. Exactly - - this is a huge opportunity

Those with cameras and skills should not waste it.

[Melodybe]

42. Rosco T calls it a national bulletin board, I must agree

and cheer his brillance, for coming up with the phrase.

All those going to the September protest (fingers crossed that I;ll have the cash to go) please, please, please bring a camera. If I can go, I am totally taping it and submitting it to Current.

I love the idea, Al Gore is a genius. But then again what else can be said about the only politician to see a write up on the internet, and think hey this might be a good idea to fund. He also coined the phrase the information superhighway.

I think Al Gore wants to give us all the tools to take these bastards out!

[BlueEyedSon]

2. doesn't the whole playlist seem to repeat after 1 hr??

[BattyDem]

3. Pods do repeat a lot, but give them a break ..

it's only a day old. Once people see it, they will be inspired to create and Current will have plenty of programming. :-)

[wli]

4. look at the "tensions" thing about the Miami protest

1. Tell me Posse Comitatus hasn't had an end-run done around it
2. Woops, even this thing leaves out the Rex 84 camp used for the mass arrests
3. Only the pro-FTAA guy is shown, but there were numerous people brutalized/mutilated/etc. (okay, knocking out teeth is being counted).

[BattyDem]

15. I just watched "Tensions" on the Current web site ..

I recommend it to all DUers. :-)

[Eric J in MN]

22. Are you saying you didn't like a video about the Miami FTAA protests?

nt

[wli]

24. no; I'm ambivalent

It shows things that are really scary that people need to see, but it also vastly understates the severity of what's going on.

[BattyDem]

36. I understand what you're saying but ...

it does show something that's NEVER been shown in the MSM ... and that's great! We DUers know all the gory details, so to us, the pod may not go far enough. But ... think about people who have no idea that this kind of thing is happening in America. Imagine the impact the pod will have on them. :-)

[wli]

37. interesting... "none dare call it stolen"

But I can't find anyone who doesn't, to be honest.

I just could go around with a videocamera asking people on the street if they think the last 2 presidential elections were rigged. Then someone's calling it stolen.

[Rose Siding]

5. The concept is inspired

The aim seems to be to cultivate participatory journalism, which will treat the disease rather than the symptom.

If his target market catches on -or even just enough people to fuel a new generation of activists- it could go a long way toward educating about participatory democracy.

[BattyDem]

7. The great thing about it is ...

that the pods are long enough to be informative, yet short enough to hold people's attention. It's like a sound bite on steroids, LOL!

[lyonn]

6. Battydem you described the programming very well

I've watched it some and can see the potential. I am sooo old that it may be a bit as you said "pepsi commercial - MTV for me but I did enjoy quite a few pods. It was easy listening type stuff but entertaining. Definitely a break from the MSM.

[glitch]

8. It's a tremendous idea - I hope we're ready for it. Al tends to be ahead

of the curve, so hopefully the backers will give it a chance to catch on.
Reminds me of the Internet - same dynamic model. It took a few years to really blow out. Thinking good thoughts, but my cable doesn't carry it so I can't check it out myself. Unless... they offer mpgs for download?
:)
Wouldn't that be integrative?

[Lex]

25. Yes--I think Al Gore is waaay ahead of the pack on most ideas

and I think he is on this venture too!

[Beaverhausen]

9. I have Dish Network and they don't carry it. *pout*

x(

[sunnystarr]

10. Looks like it's not in Nashville yet ...

They'd better get on the ball ... In fact I didn't any TN cities ... Hey Al how come your home state doesn't get to play?

[Uncle Joe]

11. I think we need to demand it from Comcast. n/t

[Eric J in MN]

26. If you order enough channels from Comcast Digital Cable

you should get "Current."

(Unless there it's different in your city.)

Are you getting Comcast Digitial or regular?

[Uncle Joe]

44. I still get free T.V.,

we have Comcast here as our cable monopoly, however I have not heard that they are offering "Current" in Nashville, if they did I would probably sign up with them. In the meantime they will have to ply my remote from my analog television out of my cold dead clammy hands. PBS is the best station if you do not have cable in my area.

[crikkett]

12. i think there should be a way to subscribe to its content online.

...*is* there a way to do that?

...For people who don't want to give ComCast/Dish Network their money.
If you can use the Internet to submit content and vote on content, can we stream its video for a fee? or for free?

Time to write them a letter.

[BattyDem]

16. Some content is already online

http://www.current.tv/

Click on VC2 (viewer created content). Right now, nine different pods are available, including "Tensions" which wli mentioned above. Click on "Current Studio" for more info and pods. :-)

[johnaries]

17. Go here:

http://www.current.tv/featured/

[Eric J in MN]

32. Read my article on the lack of webcasts (SpeakSpeak News)

No Webcasts for Most TV Channels

http://www.speakspeak.org/speak-blog/index.php?p=997

[KittyWampus]

13. As Someone Who Did Video Work Once Upon A Time... This ROCKS!

and the naysayers shitting all over it on day one are just too uncreative to do anything themselves and thus need to tear others down.

[Zhade]

30. Or, on the other hand, some of us are broadcast professionals...

...who have seen this kind of thing come and go more than once in our professional lives.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love for this thing to find its path and become an interesting place to gert information, but so far, meh. It's nothing you can't find easier on the internet, which has less of a gatekeeper to worry about.

If people think that they'll just be able to grab a camera, film, and get their stuff on the air, they're kidding themselves. This is big business, and the stuff on Current so far is decidedly more professional than what most amateurs can achieve.

Take it from someone who is paid to work in video - Current is going to have a tough time getting into a groove.

[Gloria]

14. I looked at the website last night...I looked at how they had the

list of times and how a summary came up and thought--what a helluva a job to keep updating all this as the stories change!

I'm thinking of going to DISH and am going to ask them if they plan to carry it.

Perhaps they'll eventually stream online.

And wouldn't it be great if some talented political types who are on OUR SIDE start producing some things to help wake up the youth of America!!

It's an awesome concept...hope Americans don't throw away the chance that Al Gore has given them! If it fails, it won't be his fault!!!

[mandyky]

18. Is Dish Network carrying it?

I assume it is not on cable yet?

[mcscajun]

19. It's on Time Warner Digital and Comcast in select cities

and on DirecTV...but they'll get to most systems if the demand is there...


http://www.current.tv/

[BattyDem]

21. It doesn't appear to be on Dish Network yet, but it's on cable ...

and DirecTV

You can check if your cable/satellite company carries Current in your area here:
http://current.viewerlink.tv

[Literate Tar Heel]

20. surprisingly enough, it's available in the Charlotte area

Time Warner Digital, channel 175 (at least that's what channel it is where I live ... I think some of the channels are different in the different areas around Charlotte)

[Lex]

23. My SO and I have been watching it in Durham

on Time Warner 122.

We really like it!

[Zhade]

27. Current may very well fail.

That is, unless they revamp their format entirely. It's quite uninteresting, and the only thing it has going for it is its slight liberal attitude.

When I heard we were getting it, I was excited, because back then it was to be a news channel to balance out the bullshit of the rest of the mass media.

Now it's this fragmented, disjointed mocking of podcasting (in my professional opinion, a poor choice of format for video) that has basically no underlying thematic construct and hosts that try way, way, WAY too hard to be hip.

In my professional opinion, Current is going to have a very rough time finding a steady audience.

[dhinojosa]

29. Sounds like you are also talking about FOXNews in the early 90s

just a thought

[Zhade]

31. Sadly, I knew back then that it would succeed.

I started in broadcasting when that network was finding its legs, and damned if I don't wish I'd been wrong about its likely success!

[Imagevision]

45. It would be nice if someone did a pod on Ohio disenfranchisement video!!

Current seems to be open to countless possibilities - Limbaugh-HaNNITY would have a rougher go at it when video-audio is provided!!

Go Gore, seems like you scored on a cool concept, now just higher the smartest people you can get your hands on!!

[NYCGirl]

47. You're mistaken...

it was NEVER meant to be a "news channel to balance out the bullshit".

It was announced as a "lifestyle channel" for the 18-35 age range.

[Zhade]

49. Actually, I'm not. It was originally to be a news service.

I know - we talked about getting it at DirecTV right after Gore made his announcement. It very quickly changed, and I remember feeling less enthusiastic once I heard about the change.

[spinbaby]

28. I wasn't impressed

MTV Pepsi commercial about covered it. But after what you wrote, maybe I'll give it a second chance.

[Zhade]

33. My main problem is the haphazard, unconnected nature of the content.

The featurettes aren't really connected in any way - it's like a bunch of film school grads threw whatever they had at the wall, hoping something would stick.

It's an extraordinarily awkward (as well as, in my professional opinion, ill-advised) format, and not having regular series - even, say, series that contain a group of related pieces with an underlying theme - could seriously hurt advertising on the network (which seems to be the one thing Current was ready with out of the box).

I'd love to be proven wrong, but I foresee major changes in the format, hosts, and content forms. It'll be interesting to revisit this thread in a year to see how close my predictions are.

[BattyDem]

34. I think that eventually ...

they will have to put some kind of structure in place. When they have more programming, perhaps they could do 30 or 60 minute "blocks" of themed content, such as current event pod blocks, human interest blocks, entertainment blocks, world culture blocks, political blocks, etc.

It would be difficult to do that now because they obviously don't have a lot of pods (which is why they are often repeated). But when they have hundreds of them, it would probably be a good idea to group them by theme because blocks of similar content will probably be more appealing to older viewers, yet the pod format will certainly keep the younger viewers interested. JMHO

[Zhade]

35. Agreed. That would be the way to go.

NT!

[Lisa]

38. CBC's ZeD "Open Source TV" has been experiencing something like that too

It's a show that covers a block of late-night time -- but they've had to figure out how to integrate viewer contributions while maintaining quality, and not losing viewers due to lack of structure. They've come up with "theme" weeks, in order to attract audiences around particular issues. The format keeps evolving -- I thought it was kind of scattered when I first saw it, but like what you said about Current, it started to grow on me.

http://zed.cbc.ca/go?c=homepageV3

[greyl]

40. "It's an extraordinarily awkward .. ill-advised... format"

This from the same person that did your signature line s.? ;)

I think there are more than enough talented people out there to provide content, in my professional opinion.

[Zhade]

41. I'm not sure, but did you just insult me?

Let me just refresh your memory: I work in broadcasting. My opinion is thus, I think, well-informed.

[rman]

43. In the MSM, features aren't necessarily connected either

The bigger difference is that the MSM have at most a few features per day, while Current does almost nothing but features.
The format is definitely unlike anything ever done on TV, it's almost like browsing the internet for video clips, except that you don't have to surf the web to find 'm. Most people are not used to this, and no-one is used to having TV like that, so it is to be expected that people find awkward at first.

I find it great that viewers actually have some control over the content. This is a excellent platform for people who think it's time to take back the media.

[Zhade]

48. Well, we'll see how much actual control is offered.

NT!

[salcero]

50. Not quite like the internet

I think there is one major difference between Current TV and your standard television or the internet. When you browse around the internet you are generally going to places looking for specific content. I'm not sure how many people sit down at their computers in anticipation of having stuff fed to them at complete random. The same thing applies to regular television. I don't think many people turn on their TV's and then just tune to a random channel. In both cases people seek out content that interests them.

I think if Current TV is going to have any chance of success then they are going to need to group their content together into similar subject matter. But then again, maybe that defeats the whole purpose of the 60 second to 5 minute program content. If they think they can only hold a persons attention for that short a period of time then it would be pointless to group content together. I guess that is why I am out almost out of the specific target range at 33 years old.

[Tux]

39. Tell cable companies

To carry it for basic cable. If you live in SOKY, contact Insight and le them know people want it.

[Imagevision]

46. Brad Blog- hope your wheels are spinning?!!