It's the Content, Stoopid
by Charlie White

I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of that worn-out expression, "content is king." That's because even though I think that phrase is somewhat true, it only goes part of the way in telling the whole story. That's because content is not only king. It is queen, prince, princess and every other loyal subject in the Webcasting kingdom, too. So much so that after the Wall Street frenzy with stocks dealing with Internet infrastructure has long since died down, the gold rush will continue for that end-all, be-all: Content.

Content is so important because even if the Internet is built up to a mighty fortress of titanic-sized pipes, moving terabytes per millisecond in every direction, if there's no content being moved, what's the point? It would be like a sleek new highway with no cars on it, no destinations, no cities, restaurants, not even a gas station in sight.

But does that content have to be any good? Here's where the opinions of the masses start to matter -- one man's schlock is another's gem. If you've been a victim of the onslaught of junk TV lately, namely Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and all their sleazy imitators, you may be realizing the same thing I am: Hey, it doesn't take a lot of talent to create content that zillions of viewers will stare at for an hour. It doesn't have to be good to be profitable. No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the masses.

Beyond that, many of you reading this may have already come to the realization that on the Web, the same puritanical standards of commercial television networks do not apply. So, by extension, think of the possibilities: Who Wants to Have Live Sex With a Millionaire, Who Wants to Have a Finger Chopped Off for 10 Grand, or Who Wants to Do Who-Knows-What for a Big Pot o' Gold. Voyeur TV is making the commercial TV networks a mint of money, but the whole concept is showing the way for lots of other less well-heeled producers with less than pristine ideas.

Yes, when the phrase "content is king" was coined, nothing was said about the quality of that content. Kings can be evil, twisted, tyrannical despots, but they're still kings. So, many times, the lower the quality of content, the more likely it is to be watched. Some shows on the Web will be so bad, they'll be good. But the main point is, shows like Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire open the sluice gates for lots of producers with no money, talent, writing ability or creativity who are willing to exploit the voyeuristic impulse of their fellow human beings in exchange for hoards of currency.

So the question is "How Low Will You Go?" In this Internet-age limbo-rock dance toward the basement of decency, it'll be the most outrageous who attract most of the attention, especially at first. There are billions to be made by appealing to the lowest common denominator, and believe me, on the Web, we're talking a level of low that makes commercial schlock TV look like Citizen Kane.

So watch. After the gigantic infrastructure of the Internet is built out to the extent that nearly everyone can get TV-quality video streamed over the Web, the contentmeisters will be the new darlings of Wall Street. Sure, some will be providing well-done, splendid, art-quality video presentations. But the really big money will be in schlock. But do we have a choice? You bet we do, Regis. And that's my final answer.

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Charlie White has been writing about new media and digital video since it was the laughingstock of the television industry. A technology journalist and columnist for the past seven years, White is also an Emmy-winning Executive Producer, video editor and shot-calling PBS TV director. Talk back -- send him a note!

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