Who Wants to be an e-Millionaire?
by Stephen Schleicher

No, we are not launching the all-Regis game show site, and I promise that my comments will be Kathy Lee-free… I'm talking about the phenomenal growth of the digital world. Marshal McLuhan probably never guessed that the Internet would have reduced us from a global village to a dot-com and dot-net one.

Just over 10 years ago (has it really been that long?), I discovered the Internet as more than a BBS for porn and saw the future potential of digital convergence as a way to disseminate information worldwide. Unfortunately, my conversations with employers and colleagues always sounded like dialogue from a "Futurama" episode:

"We should really check out the possibility of using the Internet in our work."
"The inter-what?"
"The Internet."
"The What-net?"
"The internet."
"The What-what?"

Co-workers would also roll their eyes and snicker behind my back when I listened to a radio station from Dallas on my 286 computer with a then-unknown product called RealPlayer Beta. I was totally amazed that processor speeds were getting faster and faster following Moore's law in an almost eerie fashion.

I come from a traditional broadcast background, but eight years ago it was becoming very apparent that the three industries (radio, television/film, and computers) were quickly merging and the lines between them becoming more and more transparent. No longer could someone be just a video person. It became an adapt or die situation. This wasn't a localized incident. People all over the country were just discovering the hidden potential of the digital convergence and making moves in that direction. Those geeks of yesteryear have become the millionaires of today.

Today there is an e in front of every word, the phrase digital convergence has evolved into streaming media, and the naysayers have suddenly become "web-savvy know-it-alls." Unfortunately, these people are making the same mistakes that they did 10 years ago. Instead of discovering the potential of developing e-technologies, the here-and-now technologies are embraced as the end-all-be-alls of their e-business. If you subscribe to Toffler, e-business needs to look toward the next wave of e-technology to discover the new e-money that is out there. (I promise I won't drop names of information revolution theorists in future editorials like Taichi Sakaiya, John Naisbitt, and Clifford Stoll, to name a few).

Discovering and sharing the latest information about streaming content is why I am so excited about coming on board at Digital Webcast.com. What better venue could there be to get the latest information about the world of webcasting? As the days and weeks progress, we'll continue to cover the evolving webcasting world, up-and-coming streaming technologies, content creators who shine, and tips and tutorials to make your webcast the best it can be.

So, for a million make-believe e-dollars, what is the best source for streaming media information?
A. www.digitalwebcast.com
B. www.yournoseyneighbor.com
C. www.throughthegrapevine.net
D. www.ouija.com

Comment on this editorial on the new Digital Webcasting Forum

Stephen Schleicher Stephen has crossed the country over the last 6 years, going from Kansas to Georgia and now California. Prior to joining Digital Media Online, Stephen ran his own freelance animation business (Thunderhead Productions) providing content for clients in and around Atlanta. As Operations Manager of the Media Production Department of The American InterContinental University in Atlanta, GA, Stephen installed and built out an entire video facility from the ground up. In addition to having a strong traditional and interactive video production background, Stephen has shared his tremendous technical and production knowledge as an instructor at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas and AIU in Atlanta.
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