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Hulu - Maybe not for library, but...
March 21, 2008

Hulu.com, a video streaming site developed by NBC Universal and News Corp (Fox), has opened the doors for public use. The idea is simple; users can register to access over 400 television shows as well as quite a few movies. There are, of course, advertisements that interrupt the video streams. After watching a number of TV shows on Hulu, I do have to say that the advertisement breaks are refreshingly short as compared to regular TV.

While perhaps not the most appropriate tool for school libraries, Hulu is certainly something about which we need to be aware. Not only because the site provides much needed access to classic A-Team and Airwolf episodes, but also because it represents a rather major new development in how we can access media. Television is no longer synchronous. Oh sure, it hasn't been for a while - VCRs and Tivo spring to mind - but now it really isn't synchronous in a non-hardware sort of way. If you finally succumb to the discussions about a new show and decide you want to start watching in the middle of a season, now you can go back and fill in the past episodes.

So why is this so important for libraries? In a way, it represents a sort of twisted, commercial could-have-been for libraries. Instead of free "borrowing" of content supported by public tax dollars and community good support, Hulu makes its living from corporate sponsorship of content. Good? Bad? I tend to lean more towards seeing this as unfortunate. The problem is, sites like Hulu only reinforce the acceptability of providing so-called free content based on advertising.  It makes it even more important for libraries to emphasize that while not free (we tend to be tax-supported) we are at least not intruding on media consumption with a for-profit purpose.

Posted by Chris Harris on March 21, 2008 | Comments (0)