Ach, Tuesdays - the day of blood, sweat and tears for us virtual hacks as we strive to produce another weekly edition of Online.
Still, today I spotted a couple of semi-related tidbits on CNet News that raised my interest briefly. The first was on Google's expansion of video searching to take submissions from (gasp!) the general public:
"We're going to start taking video submissions from people" in the next few days, [Google founder Larry] Page told a crowd at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association show. Later, in response to a reporter's question, he called the move an "experiment in video blogging."
The announcement comes as the Mountain View, Calif.-based company is ramping up ambitious video search plans. In January, it unveiled Google Video, an engine that lets people search the text of TV shows. The service scours programming from PBS, Fox News, C-SPAN, ABC and the NBA, among others, making broadcasts searchable the same day.
In a somewhat connected tale, former US vice president Al Gore announced more details of his forthcoming Current.tv station - a kind of TV/blogging hybrid (a succession of viewer-submitted clips, in a 24-hour Takeover TV stylee). They've managed to link up with the Googsters to include Current on the video search, but they're also learning about the democratisation of media:
Viewers will also be able to vote for their favorite videos and get tutorials via the Internet on how to produce their own segments, according to network officials.
Think of it as a big video blog that you don't need a computer to watch. Gore said he is aiming to bring interactivity to the TV set.
"The Internet opened a floodgate for young people whose passions are finally being heard, but TV hasn't followed suit," Gore, the network's chairman, said in a statement. "We intend to change that with Current, giving those who crave the empowerment of the Web the same opportunity for expression on television."
Gore will, of course, know how to make the most of the web's influence... after all, he invented the internet, didn't he?
