Why is television so addictive and why didn't the likes of YouTube replace our good old cable service? When I see my family and friends prefer regular cable over on-demand access, I keep questioning myself - what's driving this behavior inspite of infinite choice on the Internet?
The answer is simple, SIMPLICITY! Unlimited choice causes anxiety and requires effort to find what we want! On the other hand many don't mind settling for something entertaining when accessing it is brain dead simple.
We may need to bring in some concepts - channels and programming - that cable tv pioneered to internet video and build a simple and intuitive navigator (remote) to displace the cable from our living room.
Now you may be tempted to say - Youtube, etc. already have channels! Yes, they all have channels, but they don't yet have the kind of programming everybody has come to expect and there is no simple way to access them on your TV!
We should design a dongle (think ChromeCast) for our TV and a simple controller/remote to navigate through channels and programs on it. Then we should be able to leverage a third-party ecosystem to come up with programming/channels for it.
In the end, its not about flexibility and choice but about simplicity and effortlessness. Imagine the drunk on the couch, the remote in his hand and the TV before him! He is the least common denominator we should aim for!
The answer is simple, SIMPLICITY! Unlimited choice causes anxiety and requires effort to find what we want! On the other hand many don't mind settling for something entertaining when accessing it is brain dead simple.
We may need to bring in some concepts - channels and programming - that cable tv pioneered to internet video and build a simple and intuitive navigator (remote) to displace the cable from our living room.
Now you may be tempted to say - Youtube, etc. already have channels! Yes, they all have channels, but they don't yet have the kind of programming everybody has come to expect and there is no simple way to access them on your TV!
We should design a dongle (think ChromeCast) for our TV and a simple controller/remote to navigate through channels and programs on it. Then we should be able to leverage a third-party ecosystem to come up with programming/channels for it.
In the end, its not about flexibility and choice but about simplicity and effortlessness. Imagine the drunk on the couch, the remote in his hand and the TV before him! He is the least common denominator we should aim for!
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This just echoes the same underlying reason behind majority of people choosing iPhones over Android phones in the US (where there is not a big price difference between the two). Ease of use simply trumps choice. The comparison may seem a little out of place but I guess you understand where I am getting at. TVs at homes across the world are used both as laid-back relaxation media portals and as portals for active entertainment seekers. Internet media is currently catering to the second use case.
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It is just a labor intensive process to find the right media on the internet, and an even more technically challenging process to get that to the TV, which most people are not ready to do. Roku, Apple TV and most recently Chromecast have tried to make that easier, but the process has to evolve a long way to become a worthy cable/OTA TV replacement.
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@Praneeth - What you just reiterated is only half the puzzle! The other half is programming / channels! Apple and others are trying to negotiate with existing cable networks and channels to bring the same content and programming but these two models are very different. I am afraid it will be a lost effort. Instead they should focus on building the tech and an ecosystem that can cater to this behavior and needs. Users don't need the same programming; they just need an equally entertaining one.
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people don't like to have to work too hard each time they want to relax. sometimes they will work for years to provide themselves a preiod of relaxation. but on the day to day side. simple. fast. intuitive. non-changing, wins for most people.
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