Sebagai lumbung beras nasional, Pulau Jawa ada di titik amat kritis. Di satu sisi, karena ketergantungan akut semua perut pada beras, swasembada beras menjadi keharusan bagi siapa pun yang memerintah negeri ini.

Beras adalah pangan mahapenting di negeri berpenduduk 230 juta ini, tak hanya dari sisi ekonomi, tetapi juga sosial-politik. Karena itu, sejak Orde Baru hingga kini, baik harga, pasokan, maupun distribusi beras dikendalikan. Posisi Jawa menjadi penting karena memasok 56-60 persen (kebutuhan) beras nasional.

Di sisi lain, Jawa merupakan episentrum ekonomi nasional. Sekitar 70 persen uang negeri ini berputar di Jawa (Baswir, 2003). Hal ini membuat aktivitas ekonomi di Jawa berputar bak gasing. Laju industrialisasi, transformasi ekonomi, dan jumlah penduduk yang besar membuat tekanan pada lahan menjadi panas. Pertumbuhan ekonomi mendongkrak mutu sosial-ekonomi lahan nonpertanian.

Di simpang jalan

Perkawinan antara permintaan dan rente lahan nonpertanian yangterus meningkat ini membuat tekanan pada lahan berjalan masif. Ini membuat keberadaan hutan, sawah, dan ladang ada di simpangjalan : tetap dipertahankan sebagai kawasan penyangga dan penghasil pangan atau dikonversi.

Dampak dari tekanan lahan itu bisa dilihat dari rutinitas banjir, longsor, dan kekeringan di sejumlah kota di Jawa. Namun, sejauh mana kondisi tutupan hutan dan daerah aliran sungai (DAS) sebagai penyuplai air irigasi, khususnya terkait jaminan produksi pangan dari sawah, belum banyak diketahui. Ketersediaan informasi ini penting sebagai penanda kritis-tidaknya Pulau Jawa sebagai penyangga pangan nasional.

Hasil intrepretasi citra Landsat 2006/2007 oleh Barus dan kawan-kawan (2009) menunjukan, tutupan lahan hutan total di Jawa tinggal 14 persen, jauh dari angka ideal (30 persen) untuk menjaga lingkungan fisik dan areal sawah. Dari 156 DAS di Jawa, hanya 10 DAS (6,4 persen) yang punya tutupan luas hutan lebih dari 30 persen, bahkan 50 DAS (32 persen) di antaranya tutupan hutannya nol persen. Akibatnya, sebagian besar sub-DAS di Jawa berpotensi besar dilanda banjir/longsor rutin. Air hujan yang seharusnya bisa mengisi air tanah dan pelan-pelan dialirkan karena adanya tutupan hutan, berubah menjadi air limpasan permukaan, yang tidak saja mubazir, tetapi juga menjadi (peng)gerus lapisan subur tanah.

Menurut Barus dkk, dari empat kelas daerah tawan longsir (1-4, dari rendah/tidak ada sampai besar), kategori kelas tiga menempati rerata 80 persen dari tiap sub-DAS dan kelas 4 menempati areal 10 persen.

Dari empat kelas daerah rawan banjir, kategori kelas tiga mempunyai rerata 65 persen dari tiap sub-DAS, dan kelas empat sekitar 20 persen. Berpijak dari kombinasi ketiga kondisi itu – DAS kritis, rawan banjir, dan rawan longsor – sebenarnya lingkungan fisik di Jawa sudah rusak/kritis.

Apabila musim hujan, sebagian besar sawah akan banjir dan longsor. Sebaliknya, sawah akan kekeringan pada musim kemarau. Rutinitas banjir dan longsir akan membuat padi puso, DAS dan jaringan irigasi rusak. Padi adalah tanaman rakus air. Tanpa ketersediaan air memadai. Produksi padi ada di zona bahaya. Banjir, longsor, dan kekeringan akan mengancam eksistensi Jawa sebagai lumbung padi nasional.

Jawa, basis produksi beras

Untuk mempertahankan Jawa sebagai basis produksi beras, harus dilakukan aneka langkah cepat dan simultan.

Pertama, menetapkan zonasi agroekologi sawah. Konsep pewilayahan didasari kenyataan, tiap tanaman memiliki perbedaan tingkat kesesuaian lahan. Dari zonasi agroekologi sawah oleh Nurwadjedi (2009), luas sawah mencapai 2,87 juta hektar (40 persen) dari 7,16 juta hektar kawasan budidaya di Jawa. Sebagian besar (93 persen) sawah itu berjenis tanah fluvial dan volkanik yang amat subur dibandingkan dengan tanah di luar Jawa, dengan kondisi irigasi beragam (dari teknis hingga tadah hujan). Dengan penetapan ini, sawah dalam zonasi harus dilindungi eksistensinya.

Penetapan dan perlindungan lahan ini merupakan amanat UU Perlindungan Lahan Pertanian Pangan Berkelanjutan, ditetapkan 16 September 2009, melalui UU ini, kawasan dan lahan pertanian pangan ditetapkan (jangka panjang, menengah, dan tahunan) lewat perencanaan kabupaten/kota, provinsi, dan nasional (Pasal 11-17).

Keberadaan kawasan dan lahan dilindungi hanya bisa dikonversi untuk kepentingan umum. Itu pun dengan syarat mahaberat (Pasal 44-46) : didahului kajian kelayakan dan rencana alih fungsi, pembebasan kepemilikan, dan ada lahan pengganti 1-3 kali yang dikonversi plus infrastruktur. Siapa yang melakukan alih fungsi lahan yang dilindungi bisa dipidana 2-7 tahun dan denda Rp 1 – 7 milliar. Pidana ditambah jika pelakunya pejabat (Pasal 72-74).

Kedua, segera dilakukan rehabilitasi tutupan hutan, menekan laju degradasi lahan dan bencana banjir. Terkait ini, penerapan pengelolaan sumber daya air terpadu dan prinsip hilir membayar hulu tidak bisa ditunda-tunda. Karakteristik air terkait daerah hulu-hilir. Konsekuensinya, batas hidrologis tidak selalu identik dengan batas administratif.

Pengelolaan sumber daya air harus menimbang kesatuan hidrologis sebagai satu kesatuan wilayah. Ini penting karena DAS-DAS besar di Jawa, seperti DAS Solo, Ciliwung, dan Citanduy, bersifat lintas provinsi dan melewati puluhan kabupaten/kota. Daerah hilir sebagai pengguna (irigasi dan PAM) harus memberi insentif hulu untuk melakukan konservasi dan rehabilitasi. Tanpa dua langkah ini, degradasi sawah terus berlangsung. Jika itu terjadi, lumbung beras Jawa tinggal cerita.

Sumber  :

Masihkah Jawa Lumbung Beras Nasional ?, Khudori | Penulis Buku Ironi Negeri Beras ; Peminat Sosial-Ekonomi Pertanian dan Globalisasi
Kompas, 18.11.2009

I survived, but I’m still recovering from my black friday shopping spree with my mom yesterday. I actually woke up this morning with a horrible cold due to waking up so early yesterday and being around so many sick people I guess. It was worth it though because I got a lot of my Christmas shopping done, got great deals, and had a great time with my mom. Usually there are atleast a few rude people that you run into on black friday, but yesterday there were none! It seemed like everyone was in a great mood, which was awesome to be around. Especially when you’re in line with that person for like an hour lol.

I bought some Enigma perfume for my mom, when she wasn’t looking, and a wireless printer for my husband among other things. My mom bought my sister some jane iredale cosmetics that she’s been asking for forever.  I was starting to wonder if my mom got the hint from my sister lol. We bought a ton of movies because just about every store we went to was selling them for dirt cheap. Usually I just buy them online for cheap, but the stores’ prices were even cheaper.  They’re good movies too, not just old or bad ones.

Now I’m just back at my place trying to rest. Actually, I put up all of our Christmas decorations today, which was really fun. My husband helped, which made it even more fun. I’m watching Return To Me on Hulu and drinking some of this. It helps make my sore throat feel better. Now if I could only manage to not sneeze in it, that would be awesome lol. My husband’s out with some friends at a bachelor party…lucky.  It’s going to be really fun.  Him and his friends aren’t into strippers or anything like that, so they are just playing ultimate frisbee, going to see a movie, and then going out to eat. I’m definitely thankful for that Well, I just ordered some dinner and am going to get back to watching my movie.  It’s a good one!  Peace.

Dünyanın en popüler video paylaşım sitesi YouTube, Hulu ve Facebook’un yükselişini önleyemiyor. Diğer video paylaşım siteleri de YouTube’a baskı yapıyor.

YouTube‘un yıllardır süregelen video paylaşım siteleri arasındaki açık ara farkla liderliği, artık rakiplerini çok da korkutmuyor gibi gözüküyor. Zira Hulu ve Facebook, YouTube’a giderek yaklaşıyor. Facebook’un sosyal arkadaşlık sitesi olmasına rağmen video paylaşım konusunda YouTube’a yaklaşıyor olması, sitenin gücünün adeta bir ispatı. YouTube, tabii ki hala daha lider konumunda bulunuyor, fakat artık Hulu ve Facebook da YouTube’la olan farklarını kapayıp, diğer rakiplerine fark atmaya başladı.

YouTube günlük 1 milyardan fazla video gösterim değerine sahip. Bunu geçebilmek için Facebook ve Hulu’nun birleşmesi gerekiyor. Diğer bir yandan YouTube sadece bir video paylaşım sitesiyken Facebook için video olayının sadece sitenin özelliklerinden biri olduğunu hatırlatalım. Video paylaşım siteleri gelirlerini hızla artırmaya devam ediyor. Geçtiğimiz aya ait rakamlara bakacak olursak, sadece Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’nde video paylaşım sitelerinin %7 daha popüler olduğunu görüyoruz.

Das Fachblatt Horizont hat eine kleine Expertenumfrage zum Thema VideoAds durchgeführt. Ergebnis sind fünf (mutmaßliche) Hindernisse, die das Wachstum von VideoAds gefährden könnten:

• Defizit an Daten

Jean-Pierre Fumagalli (Smartclip) ist der Meinung, dass in “diesem Jahr seien zwar einige Studien herausgekommen” seien, “allerdings muss noch viel getan werden.  Schließlich gilt es, den Vorsprung des TV-Markts von einigen Jahrzehnten aufzuholen.”

Da widerspreche ich: Wohl kaum eine neue Werbeform wurde in den letzten Jahren so weitgehend erforscht wie VideoAds. Wäre für jede Online-Werbeform so viel geforscht worden, wäre das Internet längst das umsatzstärkste Werbemedium. Sicher gibt es noch viele Dinge zu erforschen, die Ergebnisse sollten allerdings dann auch im Media-Einsatz berücksichtigt werden. Die Forschung ist mit Sicherheit kein Wachstumshindernis.

• Druck auf TV-Preise färbt ab

Über Preise lässt sich immer diskutieren. Es wäre sicher hilfreich, wenn nicht immer über realitätsferne Brutto-TKPs gesprochen würde, sondern einfach mal die Nettopreise auf dem Tisch lägen. Für alle Medien, für alle Werbeformen, von allen Vermarktern. Gerne auch zielgruppenspezifisch, denn dann kann das Web seine Targeting-Stärke voll ausspielen.

• Es fehlt ein echter Killer-Content

Da stimme ich voll und ganz zu. Eigenproduktionen der TV-Sender und amateurhafte Videos, die in den Verlagen hergestellt werden, sind auf Dauer nicht ausreichend. Es muss hochwertiger, werbefinanzierter Video-Content ins Web. Es fehlt ein deutsches Hulu.

• Technische Standards müssen noch entstehen

Richtig. Es gibt derzeit zu viele Streaming-Anbieter, zu viele unterschiedliche AdServer-Plattformen und zu viele sonstige technische Hürden. All das macht es Werbekunden nicht einfacher, ihre VideoAds online zu bringen.

• Kosten für Publisher sind hoch

Ja, billig ist es nicht, wenn man hochwertigen Video-Content ins Web stellen will. Siehe oben (Killer-Content). Vermutich werden einige Online-Video-Projekte nicht lange überleben. Nur verhältnismäßig finanzstarke Medienhäuser (Verlage, TV-Sender) können sich dieses Experiment leisten. Und natürlich die öffentlich-rechtlichen Anstalten.

Meines Erachtens gibt es aber einen wichtigen Punkt, der das Haupt-Hindernis für das Wachstum von VideoAds ist: Mut.

Mut bei den Content-Anbietern, Geld für Web-Lizenzen zu investieren. Mut bei den Plattformbetreibern, in Rechte und Usability zu investieren. Mut bei den Werbetreibenden, diesem Übertragungsweg für Spots eine Chance zu geben. Mut bei den Kreativ- und Media-Agenutren, um Spots zu entwickeln, die nicht dem 30-Sekünder aus dem Fernsehen entsprechen.

Nur wenn der Mut zu Inhalten auf den Mut zur kreativen Werbung trifft, werden VideoAds wirklich ein Killer-Werbemittel. Denn ohne attraktive Inhalte werden Videos im Web nicht ausreichend von den für die Werbung relevanten Zielgruppen genutzt, also auch den Hausfrauen. Und ohne diese Reichweite bleiben VideoAds bei den Agenturen weiterhin nur ein Randthema.

News of Hulu courting some VIPs of PACT for content for their UK venture.  Other tips in here – Hulu will have its own sales team and a mid-2010 launch.

Presiden telah berbicara kepada rakyat terkait Bank Century dan sikap atas kasus Chandra-Bibit, Senin (23/11) malam.

Atas kasus Chandra-Bibit, ada tiga hal penting dari sikap Presiden.

Pertama, bila tidak diteruskan ke pengadilan, kasus itu lebih banyak manfaat daripada mudaratnya. Alasannya, tidak cukup bukti dan memerhatikan aspek sosial. Dalam bagian ini, Presiden menyatakan tidak akan memasuki wilayah kepolisian dan kejaksaan. Namun, Presiden menginstruksikan agar Kepala Polri maupun Jaksa Agung melakukan penertiban dan pembenahan di instansi masing-masing.

Kedua, perlunya tindakan korektif atas instansi penegak hukum, Polri, kejaksaan, dan KPK sehingga proses hukum dapat dipercaya dan memenuhi rasa keadilan.

Ketiga, Presiden mencanangkan dilakukan pemberantasan mafia hukum.

Memahami permasalahan

Banyak pihak melihat kasus Chandra-Bibit sebagai konflik institusi, antara Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) di satu pihak dan Polri serta Kejaksaan Agung di lain pihak. Tidak heran jika pada pertemuan di Komisi III DPR, para petinggi KPK, Polri, dan, kejaksaan diminta berfoto bersama agar masyarakat melihat tidak ada konflik pada institusi yang mereka pimpin.

Di masyarakat pun, yang dinanti dari jawaban Presiden adalah pada institusi hukum mana Presiden akan memihak.

Padahal, kejaksaan, Polri, maupun KPK adalah institusi negara. Ketiga institusi ini merupakan anak kandung republik. Bahkan, Polri dan kejaksaan hingga akhir zaman tetap dibutuhkan keberadaannya dan tidak dapat dikerdilkan perannya.

Pokok kasus Chandra-Bibit adalah pada proses hukum yang dilakukan para pejabat hukum di kepolisian dan kejaksaan. Para pejabat adalah manusia, yang menduduki jabatan yang menentukan bagaimana institusi hukum dipersepsikan masyarakat.

Kini, atas sejumlah kasus, kepercayaan publik kepada pejabat, kepolisian, dan kejaksaan ada pada titik terendah. Sebaliknya, kepada KPK, kepercayaan publik amat tinggi. Karena itu, saat Chandra-Bibit disangka memeras dan menyalahgunakan wewenang, meski polisi dan jaksa yakin, masyarakat tidak yakin.

Publik merasa ada “rekayasa” yang dilakukan penyidik dan penuntut hukum atas Chandra-Bibit. Bukti tak cukup, tapi dipaksakan agar dimejahijaukan. Ini menimbulkan krisis kepercayaan terhadap proses hukum yang sedang berjalan.

Ketidakpercayaan publik inilah yang mendorong Presiden membentuk Tim Independen Verifikasi Fakta dan Proses Hukum atas Kasus Chandra-Bibit yang dikenal dengan Tim 8. Verifikasi proses hukum untuk dua hal mendasar. Presiden membutuhkan pendapat lain atas proses hukum yang sedang berjalan meski pendapat itu bukan tandingan dari yang dilakukan penyidik atau penuntut umum.

Kedua, Presiden perlu memvalidasi atas kecurigaan masyarakat. Validasi ini penting guna menepis distrust dan mistrust masyarakat terhadap penegak hukum.

Proses hukum

Dari sejumlah kasus yang muncul, proses hukum yang dilakukan para pejabat hukum kerap menjadi perbincangan masyarakat. Ini terjadi karena proses hukum yang dijalankan dianggap tidak sejalan dengan rasa keadilan masyarakat. Ini yang disampaikan dalam sikap Presiden. Salah satunya, perkara nenek Minah yang divonis 1,5 bulan kurungan karena mencuri tiga buah kakao.

Masyarakat bertanya, apakah para pejabat hukum harus memproses kejahatan yang dilakukan nenek Minah ? Apakah upaya yang dilakukan para penegak hukum setimpal dengan perbuatan yang dilakukan nenek Minah ? Apakah pihak yang melaporkan memiliki kepentingan untuk memastikan agar nenek Minah diberi ganjaran ?

Kejadian itu kerap terjadi pada masyarakat. Para sopir truk akan dicari-cari kesalahannya oleh oknum polisi lalu lintas agar memberi sejumlah uang. Demikian pula belakangan beredar istilah “ATM Berjalan” bagi oknum kejaksaan dan kepolisian yang melakukan proses hukum terhadap seseorang dalam kedudukan sebagai saksi, tersangka, maupun terdakwa.

Bahkan, pascapemutaran rekaman sadapan atas Anggodo Widjojo di Mahkamah Konstitusi, masyarakat kian paham bagaimana perkara dapat diatur oleh orang yang diduga sebagai makelar kasus. Makelar kasus bia membebaskan atau meringankan pelaku pidana yang seharusnya dihukum. Namun, makelar kasus juga bisa memastikan seseorang yang tidak seharusnya dihukum agar dihukum.

Ini semua menunjukan kenyataan di Indonesia ada persoalan dalam proses hukum, bahkan tidak terkecuali di KPK. KPK kerap dikritik karena melakukan proses hukum secara tebang pilih. Selain itu, KPK kerap melakukan penahanan pada tahap penyidikan dan penuntutan terhadap orang yang sebenarnya tidak perlu ditahan. Di sinilah isu pokok yang perlu didengar masyarakat saat Presiden menyampaikan keputusannya terkait kasus Chandra-Bibit. Keputusan Presiden sama sekali dan tidak seharusnya ditafsirkan sebagai Presiden akan berpihak pada institusi hukum mana.

Kini saatnya publik menanti sensitivitas Polri dan kejaksaan untuk menindaklanjuti apa yang menjadi sikap Presiden. Presiden juga telah menyampaikan langkah-langkah agar proses hukum bisa dipercaya dan paralel dengan rasa keadilan masyarakat.

Kasus Chandra-Bibit telah menjadi entry point agar ke depan publik memiliki kepercayaan pada proses hukum mulai dari hulu hingga ke hilir. Kepercayaan ini penting mengingat dewasa ini sistem hukum bukan sekadar ornamen atau pajangan belaka.

Sumber  :

Memahami Sikap Presiden, Hikmahanto Juwana | Guru Besar Ilmu Hukum Universitas Indonesia, Mantan Anggota Tim 8
Kompas, 24.11.2009

The first three seasons of 21 Jump Street are on hulu.com It’s going to be a very merry holiday as I have 66 episodes to get through. I’m loving it.

This is representative of recent posts regarding Hulu’s future; folks seem quite put out that Hulu will probably start charging for some or all of it’s content in the near future.

Get over yourselves. Really.

The article above is typical, lamenting the sheer effrontery of Hulu to consider charging. What, does Hulu not offer anything of value?

Now, I’ll be the first to admit, a lot is going to depend on what Hulu charges. If they go for $5/month for content which is new within the last 30 days and everything else is free, then it’s a no-brainer. If they go for $25/month with up to 5 shows, I’ll be moving on.

If it is somewhere in between, I’ll have to think about it.

I’m might be a bit atypical for Hulu; I have a media computer with an HDMI connection to my DLP HD set, and I watch all my Hulu on the TV, not on a laptop or desktop computer, always fullscreen We use Hulu as a backup for our ancient-but-beloved Series 2 TiVo; lately that pattern has reversed, with stuff going to TiVo but being watched on Hulu and just deleted from the TiVo. (As an aside, I’ll never give up a TiVo in the house; their KidZone parental controls are simply fabulous, and none the the Cable boxen can come close.)

My Netflix account is probably a good barometer. We have the lowest end account, $9/month, rarely actually watch the single DVD which shows up (Baby Mama has sat here for a month), but we stream stuff all the time. I suspect I would value Hulu similarly.

Hulu lost $33 million last year. Hard for me to say they need to keep giving things away. But what are they selling?

Really, the value of what they have is related to the live performance element of the shows they have.

No, I am not talking about only charging for live shows.

What I mean is, the value of an episode drops precipitously after it initially airs. The initial airing of an episode is akin to a live performance by a singer — it has value much higher than the repeats years later (or the CD in the case of a singer). Those season 1 episodes of Angel are nice to have, but I won’t pay for 10 year old TV episodes, unless I can buy the rights to an entire series, to watch when I want to, and loan out to friends.

But I will pay for the right to watch Fringe, Grey’s Anatomy, Stargate: SGU, Modern Family, etc. Because our house follows those shows. But I will only pay if I get to watch them within 24 hours of when they air.

Sorry, that’s how it is.

And that is precisely the wedge the content producers have in between consumers and piracy. I ditched my Apple TV because the price structure for TV episodes sucked; I didn’t want to buy anything, I just wanted to rent it for an hour. $2/episode was too much. It became easier to torrent the episodes. But if I can pay a small, digestible fee for the right to watch what I want, when I want, I’ll delete uTorrent right now.

Oh, and the cable companies’ TV Everywhere idea, where I have the right to view shows on channels I already subscribe to via my cable system? It’s possibly a good idea. As long as their approach is “What can we give the consumer that we didn’t used to be able to give them?” as opposed “How much can we soak these morons for?”, it will be a win. I’m not hopeful.

Stop whining about Hulu charging. Hulu provides value in the form of access to first-run television episodes. You think they should do it free?

Go do your job for free for a while, then whine about Hulu.

It’s apparently rather low budget atm but it should get better as time goes on. Donations or advertising inquiries can be sent to mtopher1230@aol.com
//

Boxee generated a lot of excitement on the part of online video fans when it said it would release a dedicated hardware device that will enable users to connect its open-source media center software directly to their TVs. But by becoming a hardware company, Boxee may have to choose between alienating its biggest fans and alienating potential content partners.

As Sam over at OStatic points out, much of Boxee’s success stems from a “very enthusiastic community of users” that has helped augment its media center platform by building out various content channels. But while some content owners have created their own channels, not all channels are built by the content owners themselves — or even sanctioned by them. As just one example, Boxee’s new chief creative officer, Zach Klein, told an audience at the Future of Television conference in New York last week that when he joined Boxee he was surprised to find that users had built channels for IAC’s Vimeo and College Humor, where he previously worked, without that company’s permission.

We saw the possible repercussions of such unsanctioned channel-building earlier this year, when Boxee got into a public cat-and-mouse game with Hulu over the online video site’s content being available through Boxee’s software. Since then, Hulu has gotten even more aggressive in trying to protect its content from being embedded on video aggregation sites without its permission.

Boxee has always defended its software by saying that it was just another browser, even if it was clearly meant to be used for navigating online video content when a user’s laptop is connected to a TV. But by becoming a hardware play, the company may have to rethink what content it makes available.

And therein lies the rub. If Boxee simply ports the software and all the channels that it and others have created into its Boxee Box without the permission of content owners — in other words, if it’s committed to remaining open and allowing anyone to build content channels for the device — then it risks alienating potential content partners. Or worse, it risks getting itself into legal trouble for distributing copyrighted content to the TV without getting the content owners’ permission.

For now the company says it’s committed to providing the same content on the Boxee Box that’s available through its desktop software — even if it doesn’t have rights to distribute that content. In an email to NewTeeVee, Andrew Kippen, Boxee’s vice president of marketing, writes, “It’s always been our goal to keep a consistent experience across all platforms — Windows, Mac, Linux, AppleTV, and now, the Boxee Box. We’ll do our best to make sure our users can access the same content across all the different platforms.”

The alternative would be for Boxee to provide content on the device only from companies with which it’s officially partnered, such as Major League Baseball Advanced Media, Current, Pandora, Digg and Tumblr. But there’s also a whole lot of content on Boxee from major broadcast video sites or cable networks that Boxee doesn’t have deals with, like Hulu, CBS, CNN, Comedy Central or MTV.

While Boxee is taking a chance by making unverified content available without a deal, others are playing it safe. Roku, which already sells a broadband-connected set-top device, only has content from partners available through its channel store. The company also issued an SDK earlier this year that will allow just about anyone to build their own content channels for Roku devices. But in that environment — on its platform and on its box — Roku will have the ultimate say when it comes to who is included.

If Boxee kowtows to content owners, the platform will not only become less open but it will also mean it will offer less content than what it currently makes available — which could make it less attractive to consumers.

via The Problem With the Boxee Box – GigaOM.

Hulu’s massive traffic bump courtesy of ABC’s refreshed inventory of their fall line-up proves without a doubt that online is the second screen for people who love their TV shows.  As long as online content remains free, DVR usage will erode. 

The funny thing is, people go online to watch something they already know about; they’re catching up on missed episodes of their favorite TV shows.  And the majority of people learn about new shows by – you guessed it – watching TV!  Usually those tune-in promos that are related demographically to the show you’re watching (aka commercials).  But since the spots are for related TV shows while you’re watching TV, they’re much more relevant to the viewer and much more likely to be watched than the run-of-the-mill paid ad.

So what’s the biggest obstacle for producers of online content to be successful?   An easy way to discover content.  Yes, there are certainly lots of content search engines that dump search results, or content aggregators that either provide on-site content viewing or links (the better way not to get sued).  But by far, they provide the standard, compartmentalized UI with the most popular content on top followed by the usual list of genres and/or sources.  Not a good way to discover content.  It’s just too painful.  They need to make the experience as frictionless as possible or people like me will just bail.

Tubemogul conducted research that showed that most people went directly to a specific video site (e.g. Youtube) and looked around, or came from a search link which means they were looking for a specific title.

Here are a few of the discovery-focused sites that I’ve come across:

Clicker.com – limited titles and common UI.

Mag.ma - clean layout, includes most popular content from sources that I’m interested in like twitter, TED, and digg.  Includes recommended content from their staff,  most active users, and a most viral display.  You have a pretty darn good chance of finding something interesting to watch.  Their screenshot of what they want to become looks really robust so good job.

Stumblevideo.com – so far, I like this one the best.  They just start showing stuff so it’s easy to give an immediate thumbs up or thumbs down (or not).  The subsequent videos are really quite on target and I found myself watching stuff that I know I never would have found otherwise.  Really, really easy.  The Pandora of videos.

Rippol.com – a highfalutin algorithm that includes the thumbs up/down. The breadth of sources is strong (news, TV, movies, academia) but I’m presented with images of shows and have to start digging from there – too slow and painful.  I can see who else liked a show but since I don’t know anyone there (yet), not relevant to me.

ovguide.com – ouch, not for me.  Trashy layout.

What do you want in a content discovery site?

Idag har jag haft ytterligare en såndär allergisk och ganska besvärlig dag. Visserligen är veckans andra av tre sovmornar avklarad men jag vaknade och var smått snuvig. Det blev värre och jag gick hem under den första lektionen vi hade för att äta lite lunch, vila och sen bege mig tillbaka ner för att genomföra provet i histora. Provet kändes bra.

Har tänkt skriva någon guide och recension av den amerikanska filmstreaming tjänsten Hulu men det blev aldrig av. Sen hade jag tänkt skriva om nyinspelningen av tv-serien V som efter 3 avsnitt verkar väldigt lovande. Har dock pluggat litegrann och borde ha läst lite körteori idag med. Måste fila lite på mitt argumentationstal som jag tänkte hålla på svenska imorgon.

Jag tänkte argumentera för att sänka åldersgränsen på Systembolaget. 1) Vid 18 års ålder är man ju trots allt myndig och har tillgång till att köpa alla sorters lagliga produkter i landet. Varför litar man plötsligt inte på att en person kan ta sitt ansvar när det kommer till alkohol? 2) Många personer i ålder 18 – 20 år studerar eller är arbetslösa, vilket är anledningen till att många har en ganska snäv ekonomi. Varför endast ge dem tillgång till alkohol i barer där priserna är dubbelt så höga jämfört med Systembolaget som har monopol på alkoholförsälning i butik. 3) När jag ändå är inne på försäljning av alkohol så är det nästintill kränkande att utesluta vissa personer, i detta fall myndiga personer under 20 år, ifrån att köpa alkohol på Systembolaget.

Jag har ett fjärde argument som säger att det endast är dumt att inte låta folk köpa alkoholhaltiga drycker på Systembolaget eftersom man ändå får tag på det på ett olagligt sätt eller ett annat olagligt sätt. Men det skulle nog ta lika bra som argumentet att man plötsligt gjorde 1 miljon svenskar kriminella i och med genomförandet av förbud mot fildelning.

Nu vill jag inte se några kommentarer om att mina argument är i klass med de billiga och värdelösa argumenten som ungdomarna hade när de försöker få sina föräldrar att köpa ut, i Systembolagets tv-reklamer som brukade gå.

//Geccod

AT&T Looking For An Original Content Exec; a job posting reveals the telco wants to hire an executive to lead the development of original programming for its “multiple entertainment and communications platforms.” (Multichannel News)

Rogers Launching On Demand Online Next Week; a beta version of the TV Everywhere service went live yesterday, with a full launch set for Nov. 30. (Mediacaster)

Redbox Launches An iPhone App; the new app surfaced eight months after the company had an unauthorized third-party app taken out of the App Store. (Video Business)

Rovi TV Guide Widget Lands on Samsung HDTVs; the widget gives viewers a snapshot of what’s on 28 of the most popular television channels. (Press release)

FTC Approves $9B Merger of Panasonic and Sanyo; approval came after the two companies agreed to sell Sanyo’s assets in batteries for first responder radios. (Broadcasting & Cable)

TVGuide Network Secures US Rights to Susan Boyle Film; I Dreamed a Dream: The Susan Boyle Story, will air on Dec. 13, the same day it premieres on ITV1 in the UK. (Multichannel News)

Video Ad CPMs Are Down 37 Percent, But Revenues Are Up 84 Percent; BrightRoll saw a 46 percent increase in the number of video ad campaigns, compared to the previous quarter, and a 64 percent increase in RFPs. (TechCrunch)

Hulu got a nice shot in the arm in October, according to the latest comScore numbers, indicating that newteevee is a lot like oldteevee in some ways. The premium content portal saw double digit growth in both streams and unique visitors, spurred by a new content partner in ABC (s DIS) and a new fall TV season, reports Ad Age.

For October, Hulu generated 856 million video streams, up 47 percent from September, says comScore. Unique visitors were up ten percent to 42.5 million, and the time spent per viewer jumped to 123 minutes, up from 92 minutes in September.

Hulu got its Christmas goose early thanks in part to new shows from ABC hits like Lost and Desperate Housewives, which had its first full month on the site, along with the new fall TV season, which was in full swing during October.

As Ad Age notes, Hulu’s viewing patterns are looking a lot like traditional TV, as traffic to the site dipped during the summer. Additionally, Hulu viewers are also attracted to hit, broadcast shows like Family Guy and Glee, and not long-tail shows. (Sorry, Airwolf!)

ComScore’s numbers are a ray of sunshine in what has been a cloudy couple of months for Hulu. The company has been under pressure from its network parents to add a subscription service, and there have been reports about bickering over ad sales. Hulu CEO Jason Kilar has even had to go out of his way to remind people that he’s a capitalist. Of course, we’re not sure why he’s let Hulu unleash a baffling new embed blocking initiative that could adversely affect this recent growth spurt.

We’ll see how Hulu stacks up in the overall online video view count landscape tomorrow, when comScore officially releases its October numbers.

In the category of “What the?”, comes the recap of last night’s episode of Fox’s “American Dad!”.

I have to admit that I know virtually nothing about this show other than its inclusion in the Seth MacFarlane portfolio, but Episode 7 of Season 5 begs to be watched.

The episode, titled “My Morning Straightjacket”, has a bizarre storyline centered around the great Louisville band My Morning Jacket. 

My Morning Jacket's Jim James guest-stars on the animated American Dad!

I won’t even try to provide a recap, but both Spin and MTV have the scoop on this must-see concoction of inspired tribute to a band not necessarily accustomed to primetime exposure.

Thanks to Hulu, you can catch the entire episode (for now) here. 

MMJ fans, at the very least, should appreciate the opportunity to experience the band in any form during its current hiatus.

And everyone else can watch to figure out why Jim James just might be the sun.

There’s been a lot of talk about the end of television lately. You’ve heard it all. But one simple fact I heard today reminded me today of why television is doomed.

The end of the ratings period.

Yep, that old chestnut. But let’s stop and think for moment what it means and the legacy issues associated with the concept of the rating and non-rating periods.

It was something television could do. It could ‘have a holiday’. It could do this for one simple reason, it had no real competitors. TV broadcasters justified their actions too. They told us that their TV stars needed a break. They told us they were getting ready for the new season with great new episodes and shows. They told us we could enjoy our favourite re-runs. Sure we could go down the the video rental store, but it was much harder than turning on a television and a poor substitute at best.

Today, the end of the ratings period is a continued legacy which proves that broadcasters still don’t get it. We don’t care what time of year it is, we don;’t have to. We still spend money. The economy keeps churning. We still want current, new, exciting information and entertainment. Good news for us is that now we can go elsewhere to get it. And it’s more convenient than TV. It’s on demand, and uninterrupted. The fact that the ratings period still exists today has me flummoxed.

And as long as the television broadcasting industry thinks it can get away with it’s ‘holiday’, it is yet to understand what is happening. It alone is proof TV as an industry, is doomed. This little thing, the non-ratings period, is proof they don’t believe that is the end of their cosy little attention monopoly.

Good bye television, hope you enjoyed your stay.

[qi:_newteevee] Two-year-old Hulu, which has quickly become Americans’ preferred method of consuming TV online, is now blocking startups from embedding its video library. But while Hulu is now (mostly) unfriendly to startup video aggregators, it’s still sharing its videos with its corporate parents’ friends: the big web portals and MSOs. Put together, the retroactive and inconsistent nature of a recent spate of nastygrams shows the site is feeling insecure.

Over the weekend, Hulu demanded that a newly launched video discovery startup called Rippol stop embedding all its shows. Hulu told Rippol that it can link to its full library, but not embed the videos. Rippol tells us it will comply, and replace the Hulu embeds where it can from network sites like NBC.com and Fox.com.

Rippol competitor Yidio also tells us Hulu commanded it to stop embedding, and video search site CastTV says it has also recently changed to make users click through to watch Hulu. Meanwhile, video guide Clicker declined to comment, but we’ve seen that over the last two months it’s swapped out Hulu embeds for TV network embeds as well. Continue reading the full post at NewTeeVee.

Two-year-old Hulu, which has quickly become Americans’ preferred method of consuming TV online, is now blocking startups from embedding its video library. But while Hulu is now (mostly) unfriendly to startup video aggregators, it’s still sharing its videos with its corporate parents’ friends: the big web portals and MSOs. Put together, the retroactive and inconsistent nature of a recent spate of nastygrams shows the site is feeling insecure.

Over the weekend, Hulu demanded that a newly launched video discovery startup called Rippol stop embedding all its shows. Hulu told Rippol that it can link to its full library, but not embed the videos. Rippol tells us it will comply, and replace the Hulu embeds where it can from network sites like NBC.com and Fox.com.

Rippol competitor Yidio also tells us Hulu commanded it to stop embedding, and video search site CastTV says it has also recently changed to make users click through to watch Hulu. Meanwhile, video guide Clicker declined to comment, but we’ve seen that over the last two months it’s swapped out Hulu embeds for TV network embeds as well.

While some of Hulu’s moves — keeping its content out of the living room by blocking Boxee, taking down back episodes of shows — are clearly at the behest of the content companies who control the company, this one seems different. What’s happening here is that Hulu thinks Rippol and the rest are competitors, and is scared to lose its edge as a video aggregator. Because while Hulu does host a whole lot of premium content, it doesn’t own it; the value it adds is limited to the way it presents shows. And that isn’t enough.

What Hulu could do is set up an affiliate relationship business like iTunes and Amazon. If someone sends a viewer to your content and advertising, in theory everybody wins. Startups can slice and dice revenue just like big established web portals. However Hulu told Rippol it is only “very selectively” choosing companies for “structured distribution relationship[s]” — the kind it has with AOL and Yahoo. If you’re a little startup, you’re mostly limited to linking to content through Hulu’s site map feed.

The door to Hulu embeds is still open to sites from traditional TV distributors. New sites from major players like Echostar’s (s SATS) Sling.com and AT&T’s (s T) AT&T Entertainment seem to be able to get official Hulu embeds (click the links to see examples).

And some startups still have embed access too. Veoh, which has long featured Hulu content sans partnership, still has a live embed library up and running, as does Prime Time Rewind (though both appear to be using the user embed code, not the slightly different partner player). And Watercooler, which creates social experiences around TV and got a deal to embed Hulu content last year, still has its authorized library available.

Watercooler CEO Kevin Chou said this morning that his site has official access to a “fairly comprehensive” selection of Hulu content. “I think Hulu doesn’t view us as a competitor. We have a large audience and a community that’s really there for the community aspects of what we build.”

To be fair to Hulu’s side of the story, embedding video is one of the more powerful ways to move content around the web. An embed often carries in-video ads and a link back to the site that hosts it. However, people who embed videos often profit from attracting viewers to their pages. And when you’re helping someone else make money, it’s only natural to want to take a cut. In a similar vein, the Dutch music rights association Buma/Stemra announced next year it will charge bloggers and video collection sites like Yubby a fee of 130 Euros for every six videos they embed (it later said “amateur” bloggers were exempt).

But what Hulu is doing with embeds seems random and protectionist, and out of character with the web-savvy reputation the wunderkind has built. The fact is, all the TV network sites seem to be just fine with aggregators like Rippol and Clicker embedding their libraries. At a time when Hulu is under pressure from its corporate parents to muck around with its model so they can make more money, it should remember that its biggest allies are on the web.

Another 4 hours gone by as the top ad agencies and brands duke it out for 30 seconds of glorious spot time- who will be remembered this year?

My Best & Worst Picks:
[+]
1. Careerbuilder rules of thumb (Wieden & Kennedy)
2. Hulu Alec Baldwin (Crispin Porter & Bogusky)
3. Hyundai Angry Bosses (Goodby, Silverstein & Partners)
4. GE Wind Energy (BBDO New York)
5. Pepsi Refresh Anthem Will.I.Am (TBWA/Chiat/Day LA)

[-]
1. Cash4Gold (Euro RSCG Edge)<– don’t believe the hype, it’s still bad advertising
2. Vizio TVs (In-House)
3. Cars.com David Abernathy (DDB Chicago)
4. NBC LMAO (NBC In-House)
5. tie between Go Daddy & Teleflora (both In-House…seeing a trend?)

Noteworthy  for beautiful execution
- Budweiser Clydesdale Circus
- Coca Cola Heist Picnic

*3D Sobe and Miller High Life spots were innovative uses of the ad space, but didn’t make the cut for me

…’til next year!