Joost Do It: P2P TV

    Have you ever found yourself sitting at home watching TV when you come to the realization that you hate both the ads and the shows you’re subconsciously seeing?  Look no further because your computer can now be turned into a high quality TV with only the shows you want to watch. Joost is a program designed for distributing TV shows and other forms of video over the web using peer-to-peer technology. 
    Joost was created in 2006 by the same guys who brought you Kazaa and Skype.  The peer-to-peer technology is similar to Kazaa, allowing users the ability to upload and download videos.  While this also appears similar to TVLinks and YouTube, the one advantage of Joost is the high quality, full screen picture.  Joost is also community driven, meaning users are able to leave feedback and discuss improvements through a variety of specialized forums.  The most important feature of Joost is the support for plugins.  Plugins are widgets (Mac users you know what I’m talking about) you can load onto the Joost screen and include a clock, instant messaging, rating plugin, and channel chat.  These plugins are what differentiate Joost from YouTube because users can chat about a show on the screen while watching it.
    What do I think of Joost?  Honestly I’m not a big fan.  I hate downloading sketchy p2p programs on my computer and would rather settle for the lesser quality of a streaming video via YouTube or TVLinks.  I was also drawn back by the fact that Joost is not commercial free.  Commercials appear sporadically throughout the programs making them even more annoying than their TV counterparts.  At least with TV I feel like I know when the commercial is coming.  Despite these setbacks, I do believe Joost could have potential considering it’s still in the beta phase of testing.  Also, Joost is community driven, which could be helpful in fixing problems people have with the program and the ads. 
    The bottom line is that Joost, like Kazaa, is most likely just a fad that will pass when people realize they are watching TV on a computer.  Sweet.  Can I get over it already?  Another problem I have is with the limited content.  There is no doubt Joost offers enough content to watch, but there’s not nearly enough content to do a search that brings back decent results.
    From the perspective of a planner, Joost could be a good medium to advertise in.  The one advantage is that advertisers have the potential to reach a television sized audience for a relatively cheap price.  However, it's also important to take into account the intrusiveness of the current ads and whether users actually pay attention to them. 
    Speaking of ads check out the first Joost ad.
  Is Joost going to follow its musical predecessors like Napster and Kazaa as a mere fad waiting to pass?  Would you use Joost even if it has intrusive ads?  Are programs like Joost replacing the need for cable TV?

Posted by guest author, Ben Newell.

Comments

[carolyn bee]

If the people who created Kazaa created Joost, then I think it’s headed down a sad, sad road. Snootiness aside, I believe that programs like Joost are fads. There are too many programs out there that are similar to what Joost offers now. Just doing a quick google search came up with peekvid.com, flickpeek.com, and blinkx.com, and digg.com to name a few. Then there’s also the network sites that offer their shows online, too. To be quite honest, I didn’t know that any of these sites existed online because there are simply too many of them to keep them straight.

I don’t think that I will ever use Joost because I believe that there are people out there like me who still like watching shows when they’re supposed to be aired on television. I don’t think that Joost will ever replace cable television because of this. Often people create special occasions for these shows that they enjoy watching with their friends. There’s always a gathering at my place on Thursday nights for “The Office.” However, if there’s ever a week that I have to miss an episode of something I watch, my automatic instinct is to go directly to the network site that the show is played on to watch it. Having commercials on these online video players has never stopped me from watching the show online. The ABC video player has a 30 second commercial every ten minutes or so and it doesn’t bother me because I know that if I were to watch the show on television, I would be bombarded with many more messages. It will be interesting to see how long Joost remains popular with all of the competition that it faces today. All I know is that it will never win me over!

[Marcie Blagden]

There are so many Joost/Digg/Peekvid, etc. sites out there now that I think it has become increasingly difficult for one to stand out above all of the rest. As a product, they sort of remind me of milk, in that it would be extremely tricky to make ONE brand stand out as a star. And unfortunately for products like Joost they differ from milk in that they are, as one, not viewed as being a ‘necessary’ product or tool. So even just making people believe that they could really benefit from using the product becomes a challenge in itself, let alone persuading them that one brand is above the others. I don’t think that online television will ever completely wipe out cable TV but I do think that there is something about the online experience that offers advertisers with the possibility of greater viewer interaction. I find it interesting that their advertisement placement is somewhat sporadic and at times jarring, I wonder if the “surprise” advertisements alter the average viewer’s brand recollection. Even though we may feel slightly annoyed and inconvenienced by the ad, I wonder if we cognitively shut down from the message or if in our annoyance we unconsciously cling to the message. All in all, I don’t think I will be visiting Joost regularly largely because I prefer my well-engrained Tivo system and I enjoy watching my weekly programs on a large television with a group of people. The shear size of computer screens cuts the entertainment value down in my opinion.

[Emily Tormey]

My experience with watching television shows online extends only as far as catching up on shows I missed via the network website. I doubt that Joost will revolutionize anything; YouTube is big and could improve its video quality to compete. It already has recognition and a huge inventory of material so I wonder how Joost would surpass it as a television content provider online. The features of instant messaging and community interaction (e.g. ratings/comments) don't appeal to me; I don't care to share with total strangers how funny what Dwight just said was.
As far as advertising is concerned, for some reason I feel like advertisements appearing during online videos are much more annoying than on television. I think because I am used to being able to play, pause, and jump around with a click of my mouse on the timeline bar that usually appears directly beneath the video. Then when an ad comes on and I can't skip forward, I get annoyed. Also, in my experience, the entire video is sponsored by one advertiser, so I'm forced to watch 3 or 4 different ads for the same product. For example, the other week I watched The Office on the network website and had to watch several ads for Bee Movie. Now, every time I see something related to Bee Movie, I am reminded of how it tainted my Office viewing experience with redundant and obnoxious advertising. Also, advertising in this style doesn't have one of the benefits of television advertising - the chance to get up and use the bathroom or get a snack. It's just long enough to annoy you.
I doubt Joost will be successful; and if it is, I think it will need to approach online video advertising in a more entertaining, less restrictive way to keep people engaged.

[Michelle Gerber]

Yeah, Joost might just be a fad—or maybe it won’t even get enough attention to be called a fad. In any case, it’s a progressive idea, and it gets points just for that in my book. It is inevitable that society will change with time and change brings about new ideas. A few of those ideas will thrive, leaving maybe 95 percent to wither away, but those failed attempts are necessary to get to the best ideas through. Failure is a necessity of innovation, and for that I applaud the (doomed?) Joost. I am also gonna start cheering for them now, as brave underdog defendants in a probable lawsuit regarding copyright infringements rooted in their peer-to-peer network. Go Joost!

[Godina Lai]

TV technology is going to face a huge transformation in the 21st century. Television is switching from normal display to high definition. People will not only watch a program at a certain time as scheduled, there are on- demand television, online tv stations, you tube and this new type of technology, Joost. I have used P2P technology to watch television. It is because I found it very easy and it will skip all the commercial breaks and I can just download them into my computer and watch whenever I want. I do not have to worry about the internet reception unlike when watching you tube. I like to use P2P especially to watch television series, so I can watch a couple episodes at one time. Good news from Joost is that audience can receive higher picture quality and audience can even discuss about the program with others watching the same program. It attracts people who have the same interest together in one network. Joost becomes a browser, working tool but not only TV. I think Joost would get popular if there is proper strategy promoting it. Personally, I think Joost is a network for television fans to discuss and share different kinds of program or even online activities on certain television programs.
Joost is very convenient yet it often needs the mass audience to test the actual effectiveness. The stability and the priorities would need to test out by the audience on their favors of using this new technology. It is possible that it is going to be a mere fad similar to Napster because technology updates every day. There would be another new technology which is more convenient than Joost. Joost will then be eliminated by not only the audience but the new technology. Joost needs new add on functions in order to keep its popularity among the users. However, Joost creates a new medium for advertisers to put on ads not only throughout the television programs, but also the functions that Joost provided. I would read the ad if it is on the chat of Joost, but not if it is added onto the television program. It is a distraction if there is intrusive ad adding before or during the television program, and it makes no difference from watching a program on television. The continuity of a television program is very important to me and I think people choose Joost because of the ad-less program offerings. The possibility of Joost replacing cable TV is not very obvious. Cable TV might still be very popular to older generations that they like to just turn on the TV and watch the programs they offer. Yet younger generations prefer different choices that they can choose from on a fast pace. Joost provides better television options such as better quality and flexibilities on program choices. Yet, people might tend to use cable TV because of the sustainability.

[Alexa Nelson]

Joost will most likely not last as long as Napster and Kazaa did because television shows don’t have the staying power that music does. People want to download music onto their computer to listen to over and over. I don’t think that this would be the same reason that people download television shows. If I miss an episode of a TV show that I love, why would I consider downloading it onto my computer for the long haul? Why would I do that when I can search YouTube or get it directly from the network website? I agree with Ben when he says that he doesn’t like having all those sketchy extra files. I’m not computer savvy and I wouldn’t know how to fix a problem that could result from these files.
Like YouTube, I think that being able to share videos with people is a fun way to communicate. Not to mention that it is an effective advertising tool. If I was unable to find a television show on the internet that I didn’t have to download, I would have to turn to Joost. At this point, I would be so looking forward to my show that I would sit through any commercial. However, immediately after it is over I would delete the file from my computer.
As convenient as being able to find video on the internet is, I don’t think that programs like Joost will replace cable TV. Obviously, it’s nice to be able to watch a show after it airs anytime I want, but there is something so relaxing about watching TV while comfortable on the couch with friends. Nothing could replace that experience. Not even the convenience of Joost or other related programs.

[Nick Naber]

A year or two ago I would have agreed that watching TV on your computer is a fad, but recent developments in both hardware and software have changed my mind. The whole television environment is changing with DVRs and online video software. People are no longer content watching any crap that networks decide to air and don't want to sit through five minute blocks of commercials. DVR boxes are basically computers recording video content from cable and satellite feeds. Apple TV and a host of other devices are just computers that act as gateways between the home computer and the TV for displaying video content. A device has just been released that allows streaming from cable feeds to any laptop with an Internet connection. Clearly there is interest in combining computers and TV.

When it comes to embracing technology, the TV industry is trying not to make the same mistakes as the music industry. The fact that major networks are posting free versions of their programs the day after they air shows they are listening. These days people have too many entertainment choices for TV producers to stand by idly. They must both create content worth watching and be aggressive in embracing new technology to retain the public interest.

[V. Stephens]

I agree with your hesitancy regarding downloading P2P.
It probably is a violation of major copyright laws.
I would definitely not like ads on it.
It sounds as if Joost is a lazy way of web surfing for video content.