More People Going Online To Watch TV Episodes

The use of the Internet to watch full television episodes has tripled since 2006 among those aged 13-to-54, according to a new report from Knowledge Networks.

Among Internet users 13-to-54 viewing complete TV show episodes via streaming or downloaded video has grown from 8 percent  to 22 percent. For Internet users 18-to-34 viewing of complete TV show episodes via streaming or downloading has climbed from 12 percent to 30 percent.

"The small but notable level of people watching TV programs via the Internet on regular TV sets suggests that the convergence of the two screens for mainstream audiences may finally be on the horizon," said David Tice, Vice President and Group Account Director at Knowledge Networks. 

"Growing numbers of 'connected TVs' - those that access the Internet - are making this option increasingly user-friendly. The fact that over one-third of TV homes now have a bundled TV/Internet service package is no doubt accelerating this blurring of boundaries."

Other highlights from the report include:

   *7 percent in the 13-to-54 age group, and 11 percent of those 18 to 34, have used a TV to watch streamed or downloaded video
   

  *6 percent of those 13 to 54, and 9 percent of 18-to-34 have cut back or cancelled their TV service in the past year due to their online viewing of network programming, or plan to do so in the next year
 

Does Google Buzz Deserve All the Criticism It’s Gotten?

Google Buzz has been a magnet for skepticism, controversy, and criticism since it launched earlier this month. The skepticism is a result of past Google social media efforts not having the greatest track record. Much of the controversy and criticism has been the result of privacy, and more recently copyright concerns from users.

Google Buzz launched with auto-following, and among countless other complaints, that led to one woman complaining about being re-connected with her abusive ex-husband, just because they had previous correspondence through Gmail. Google addressed this, and has made various changes to Buzz since launch based on user feedback.

This week, blogger Jesse Stay raised the issue of content being shared on Buzz without the ads that go with it, while Google shows its own ads. Google quickly responded to this as well, saying that they expected to have the issue fixed by next week.

For all the criticism, there are still plenty of people out there that view Buzz as a good tool, and a step in the right direction from Google, with regards to social media. Some even think the extensive criticism has gone a bit further than Google deserves.

"As a big company, Google has an incredible microscope focused on their every activity," Silicon Valley blogger Louis Gray tells WebProNews. "Those people who are naturally distrusting of large companies with high market share are aggressively looking for ways to highlight weakness or issues with Google Buzz. While Google no doubt made some early missteps, and has apologized for them, the reaction has far outweighed the potential issues."

A common sentiment seen throughout the Blogosphere is that Google simply rushed Google Buzz out a little quicker than it should have. Even many of Buzz's critics have no problem admitting that Buzz has a great deal of potential to thrive. I discussed this potential at length upon the launch of the service.

Right out of the box, it seemed clear that Google was onto something with Buzz that it had not been able to tap into before - a way of taking its existing services and building its own social network in and around those - a strategy some of us have been expecting for quite some time. Buzz quickly drew in users (some didn't have much of a choice if they were Gmail users).

It's important to consider that Buzz hasn't even been around for an entire month yet. It's already gotten tons of publicity (even though some has been negative, Google has been pretty good about turning much of that around). Publishers and bloggers have been quick to jump on the Buzz bandwagon and promote their Buzz profiles. How long did it take people to "get" Twitter? Some people still haven't gotten there.

Google will be integrating Buzz into more of its products, and will no doubt be adding more useful features as time goes on, most likely making it more appealing to users. It's just in Google's nature to crank out new features for its products. The biggest advantage Google has with Buzz is that Google already has so many users among all of its products, and ultimately, it can put Buzz wherever it wants. I have a feeling Buzz has barely scratched the surface of what it will be. But we'll see.

YouTube Advertises Presence Of New Iran Protest Clips

Yesterday, Iranian authorities enacted a ban on Gmail, saying they'd introduce a government-sponsored (and presumably government-monitored) email service to replace it.  Now, as YouTube's seeing an influx of protest videos, Google's taken a moment to mark the Iranian government's lack of control.

To be clear: these videos are not all specifically related to the Gmail development.  Some Iranians are instead using today, which is the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Republic, to protest the presidential election and the subsequent crackdowns on free speech.

Google just helped to put a spotlight on the clips and the deteriorating situation.  Olivia Ma wrote on the YouTube Blog, "[T]hese extraordinary videos provide an exclusive window into what's taking place on the ground, as foreign press have been banned from the country.  YouTube remains blocked in Iran, but dissidents are passing videos to friends out of the country and using Internet circumvention technologies to post the footage, according to news reports and correspondence with those on the ground."

She then added, "We're tracking the videos on Citizentube . . . .  A playlist can be found here."

Free speech advocates will no doubt find it reassuring that Google hasn't tried to make nice with Iran's government following the Gmail ban.

MSFT, Google Prepare For Mobile Future In China

More evidence that Google and Microsoft remain very interested in China has surfaced.  Both companies have struck deals with MediaTek, a semiconductor company that specializes in wireless communications, and said deals should help them make headway in China's mobile market.

Dan Nystedt reported earlier today, "MediaTek has already developed a chipset and other hardware for Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6 operating system and has sent the package. . . .to handset makers in China so they can start designing new Windows Mobile smartphones, a MediaTek representative said."  Also, "MediaTek will release a similar hardware and software package with Google's Android mobile phone OS in the second half of this year . . ."

Microsoft's move may not qualify as much of a surprise.  Over the past month, Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates have both made statements to the effect that they weren't troubled by recent hacking claims involving China.  Microsoft's agreement with MediaTek was actually announced by a press release, too.

It's Google's involvement with MediaTek that is a little unexpected.  Google more or less threatened to pull out of China, after all, and while it's normally much more communicative than Microsoft, the company hasn't yet put together any press releases or blog posts about this.

China's mobile market no doubt represents an opportunity for all three of these organizations to make a lot of money, in any event.

Have You Read This?

> Google May Invest In Chinese Media Firm

> China Won't Stand In The Way Of Google's Android Business

> Bill Gates Sides With Ballmer, MSFT On China

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