With internet like this, who needs TV?

MySpace linkWhen I stumble upon things like this on the internet, I can't help but continually wonder why we have television shows like America's Got Talent, which are simply littered with people who clearly have NO talent in comparison to people like this. These kids are amazing. Where's the TV show that scours the 'net for people like this and gives them the credit they deserve? Why do we perpetually reward talentless hacks on television (and the radio, and, and nearly everywhere else) when there are people who truly deserve to be heralded out there?The whole thing leads me back to the realization that in a very real way, television's days are numbered. No, I'm not saying TVs are going away, or that networks are in any immediate danger. But the internet is absorbing more and more of the average person's entertainment time, and for now, at least, the democracy that social sites, voting, digging, stumbling, and so on has created on the 'net makes it easier and easier for us to find the truly GOOD content as opposed to wading through the garbage the networks think we want. And for some people, that's more enticing than the TV craps shoot.

The internet also further fragments the entertainment into smaller, more niche markets that fit specific interests better than the everything-to-everyone approach network television constantly tries and fails with. It also gives us more freedom to enjoy uncensored, unedited, material that connects with our interests that the average network would be afraid to or barred from airing due to nudity, sexuality, coarse language, or strong political stances. This is both a plus and a minus, though, as it also makes it harder to make truly good money off of it, since a smaller slice of the market will be interested in it, and therefore production values are forced to be much lower, and advertisers may stay away completely from supporting some entertainment that pushes the limits of what they feel their main customer base could handle.

It also runs a noticeable risks of dividing us EVEN MORE. Watered-down, politically-correct, corporate/FCC-controlled television is almost inarguably damaging to culture, but is a world of entertainment divided into niche groups in which people can say safely tucked away from anything that doesn't interest them really foster any personal growth or respect for others? I know since picking my topics on StumbleUpon my knowledge of atheism has increased drastically, while simultaneously my exposure to religion has dropped off quite a bit. Does the fact that I think I chose the right side mean it's really okay for me to lose that connection to what the rest of the world is thinking?

In the end, I don't see us replacing our hour-long dramas, or even our half-hour sit-coms with internet equivalents, but the internet is becoming tighter and tighter competition, and is providing us with forms of entertainment people could barely dream of before. And how long before the networks DO shift to seeing this as a much heavier source of revenue? As it is, most television shows are available for download via iTunes (yeech) or other less restrictive services, and now even for free in many cases on the network's web site. If done right, might we eventually see the networks using this as more and more of a primary revenue stream for these shows, as standard television slowly becomes the secondary target for the outdated, technophobic generations?

I think one thing that's going to be absolutely necessary to this transition is better integration of television and internet for the typical user. Yes, HTPCs (home theater PCs) are slowly penetrating the market and let you use your computer on your television with relative ease, but they're still far too intimidating to the mass market, who like to sit down in front of a television that doesn't crash, doesn't slow down, doesn't require use of a mouse or multiple programs to do one thing. But the current efforts like AppleTV or even the Xbox 360 have a way to go before you can pull it all off. Services like Orb are getting closer, making all of your media as well as many Flash video sites available from nearly anywhere, including game consoles. But we need to reach the point where we can, with ease, access any of these internet video services from any television with the simplicity people are used to getting from normal television, while simultaneously gaining all of the benefits of network television on the computer.

Anyone else want to weigh in on this? Is television in danger? Are we on our way to a world where the internet and TV are interchangeable? Is the whole entertainment industry behind the times and at risk of being overshot by forms of entertainment they never saw coming? Is the freedom and democracy of the internet about to be ruined as the big corporations take notice and overrun it the same way they did television and radio? Will the average joe be able to soon feel comfortable accessing their entertainment from anywhere in ways only us geeks previously could? Where are we going? What is that strange mark on my hand?