The apocalypse or world peace? I report, YOU decide

A little over a year from now, citizens in the United States will begin the long, arduous process of choosing a new President.

I offer this bit of advice to my fellow men and women: Choose and Choose wisely -- for the wrong candidate in office could proof disastrous on an apocalyptic scale. But there are some perks to enjoy until the nuclear-filled end of days comes to pass. For instance, it's an exciting time for anyone with a busy schedule, a fast Internet connection and a desire to follow 43-minute long American produced melodramas.

Prime-time television shows are now available online at no cost to the viewer.

Last year I remember ABC having by far the best of the best when it came to video players, which surprised me. I didn't think it was possible for a corporation to cut through all the red tape and become so successful in pushing content into a new medium. It all seemed vaguely familiar...

Convergence-Smonsmergence...(or something)
ABC has actually had quite a bit more experience at converging programming into a new medium. After all, the major TV networks got their start in radio. Although, critics once scorned by online video programing will probably claim that the path from radio to television was much, much easier than from television to Internet.

The truth is we don't know that yet, however, we do know ABC has figured out how to make online programming work. But, what's really important here is the fact that free prime time TV via Internet is a sign that we can have everything we've ever dreamed of, which I'll explain in a moment.

A viable business model for online video programing is just recently becoming a reality. Do you think the major networks realized the full and utter potential television had to offer when the medium was just an infant? Very doubtful. The daily news hour wasn't created until long after the big three (ABC, NBC, CBS--now called the big five) converged programming.

So ABC, CBS, and NBC are doing pretty well if you compare their services to the CW and FOX, which are pure wastes of time. Fox and the CW, therefore will not deliver us our wildest dreams and only serve to bring us closer to the apocalypses.

But getting back to what surprised me about ABC: they're doing this all without commercials for now. How can you have a successful business model without selling ads?

Then it dawned on me where I had seen this crazy put the customer first tactic before.

Someone over at Disney/ABC -- I don't know who -- but someone figured out that television missed the beginning of a consumer revolution where people decided to use a new medium (the Internet). Since television initially ignored the revolution, people started illegally downloading shows and streaming them from ghost servers around the world.

Bottom line? People were doing it anyways.

ABC is making the right move because they understand one thing. To sell advertising on a product, it first has to be in great demand...not forced down our throats.

Steve Jobs = Free TV online
Now, I may have lamented on the death of Business 2.0 magazine in a previous post, and then followed up with analysis of television corporate business models, but I assure you I don't find money very interesting at all.

I do, however, find it interesting that ABC leads the pack by doing all the right things after Steve Jobs took over as head of Disney/ABC/ Pixar.

*Sigh* Now if only he would run for President. The equation would then be altered slightly: Steve Jobs + Presidency = Everything I really want but don't know about yet.

*Things I really want but don't know about yet could possibly include, but not limited to: Pterodactyl transportation vessels that run on cottage cheese, people actually using segways, a cure for cancer based on burping truthiness, world peace, an end to global warming, world peace again and a insanely revalued greenback....

Oh....and one more thing:
State of the Union Addresses will be given in the form of Keynotes from now on. Oddly enough each keynote speech includes at least one cheap shot on Bill Gate AND PEOPLE STILL LAUGH.

Now I understand most of you are wholly against the idea of a Steve Jobs Presidency. You may be against allowing your inner apple fanboy to dictate your political decision. I understand that. But much the way a frustrated Windows user doesn't know what he's (or she) getting into after using a mac for the first time, You really don't know what you want.

Steve Jobs can give you want you don't know you want. And anytime things start heading down the wrong path? No worries, we'll have Vice President Woz to save us.

Think different, think America.