Transcript:

What brings you to Tech Cocktail?

Jeff Pulver: Really all the people. I ran into Eric Olson at PodCamp and with one of the first follow up emails I got was about Tech Cocktail and he said I should come. Chicago is only a 2 hour flight from New York, so I built my October around the idea that I will be here tonight, to see what Tech Cocktail is all about and see the people that all make this happen. 'Cause, frankly I kind of fell love with what the podcast was all about and just connecting the dots further, I like with tech, the premise with Tech Cocktail. If I had my druthers, I would take this on the road and bring it to Boston, bring it to New York, bring it to LA, bring it to San Jose, and help mix technology with the people in a very social, good entertaining environment.

What are you really passionate about right now?

Jeff Pulver: Well in the past few months, well the last year and a half, but really in last few months I was focusing on the realities of what it means with advent of broadband. What it means to the future TV/film broadcasting? So, I started focusing on television, particularly and looking at how the incumbent TV stations are adapting or not adapting to the Web 2.0 concept. I found over 80 different TV stations that are actually taking vintage or current content and making it available for viewing on the web, but only about 20% of those stations are RSS feeds, which means to me that to not so committed to anything, but they felt they had to have a strategy visible. That led me down the road of finding a group of amazing people, quite talented that are taking their abilities as actors and actresses and creating quality content that is only visible on the internet. Mostly episodic and I,what I did was I created a site called Network2.tv, where I sort of act, I am sort of head of programing if you will, because I'm very selective in what I've taken, for the last week or two I've been deleting more than what I've been adding. But what I  have been able to find new generation and new energy, where people are not beholding to Hollywood, but actually to great content. People that don't care so much about digital rights is because the past is the past, and what matters really  is the future. As the technologies start to move or merge, and there's no doubt in my mind it’s some of the people that we see today who are creating this programming will be discovered on cable, some of them will be on broadcast TV, but the future is in the energy of these people that are not a proponent to anybody and I'm really-really engaged and I'm very much impressed  in what I am seeing. I tried in 2005, I was home watching the LiveAid concert, now 20 years ago with LiveAid you only could watch it on MTV, 20 years later you had MTV, VH1 and aolmusic.com. And what really struck me was that I will be able to be on aolmusic.com, click on  Germany and watch GreenDay play, I could click on Wembley in UK and actually watch Pink Floyd reunite, I was my own director and I thought that quality wasn't as good as I had on cable, but I knew that in 3 years time that would be. Well I found out two days later that five billion other people, experienced that same thing, I realized after 10 years of waiting the Internet is a replacement or substitute to broadcast or cable and everything will be different. I was in Chicago about year ago, the day that ABC / Disney announced, their relationship with the Apple and the advent of the day that content would be available for two bucks from prime time TV show, for whatever, for viewing with remarking historically that the video and the TV industry is following with after 50 years, what happened to music. And if you look at what's happened in the past year it’s quite evident to me that the future of video on the net is nothing about the past, but its all about the future. And I've been working on a thesis, where we've been seeing actually things like TV shows being on the internet, cable shows being on the internet movies directly from Sundance they go on the internet. So, I asked, what happens when movies appear on the internet and not movie theaters? Who will get to monetize the popcorn? Who gets to make the money at the concession stands? Well I have belief; it's something that I call digital popcorn. Where I believe that in the near future the next mogul of TV and the movies isn’t somebody who spent billions of dollars buying spectrum, building infrastructure or even creating content. It's the person who realizes that in the future and today, but more in future TV and movies; they're applications that you could separate them from the transport. That in the future people are going to have their own connectivity and if you can find a way to deliver to a community, the content they wanna watch and find a way based on context and then on commerce ways to provide an audience. And monetize in a way for finding advertising that makes sense , it works really well .And so that’s what I’ve been working on. So, my premise has been looking at the future and then trying to figure out how the future happens now. And so when you  look at anything from network neutrality, and all these other buzz words what really matters is that consumers have the freedom to watch what they wanna watch, when they wanna watch it and whether or not... if you want to make a phone call, you should have the freedom to make that call regardless of who is providing in the access. When I look at the future of TV I am more impressed today than I was 10 years ago, it was 10 years ago last month that  I was in SoHo New York city, I ran my first conference and it was a conference of all together up start, of people who were on the disruptive side, the green side, but more importantly innovative side of telecom, it was a group of people that thought that if they could change the future by building next generation communication networks. It turned out that some of those people came to my first conference on paper started companies that ultimately were worth billions of dollars for a moment, they were the disrupters. Unfortunately 10 years later, those who survived they are now the incumbents. They have somehow sold themselves in some shape and form to the main stream. Last month I did 2 conferences at the same time: one was the 10th year of VON or: voice on the net, I collocated a new event called video on the net. Let me tell you the people that were in that room, have the energy and the soul of the people who wanted to change telecom,except these guys are changing Hollywood. And now in our lifetime usually the difference between good and great is talent. You have it in professional sports, you could have everyone play tennis, with the same tennis racket, tennis balls, but theres so many Andy Roddicks out there. There is so many people who can hit baseballs out there, there are so many Michael Jordans out there, it’s all about talent. Well you know in this industry of TV and film, there have actually been other issues such as access to technology. Because it wasn't that long ago that it cost lot of money to edit anything you want, even this show, right, it cost money, but nowadays in Hollywood Final Cut Pro and Premier are very popular. So, people use it in their homes, they use in college, they use it professionally. Video cameras, it wasn't that long ago that a set up that you are using even here tonight, cost hundreds and thousands of dollars, to get the same quality image and today that’s really at a  fraction of the price, you could say thanks to 10 years of mores law, this technology is now available and the access gap is going away. Also the distribution gap is going away. Because of the plethora of broadband content, broadband availability in the United States/around the world, if you have the internet it is our antenna now. We don't have to worry about getting  access to put up website, if you produce quality content – people will view it. And so, when I look to the future, I believe now is just talent of the people who are creating these shows, people on camera and behind scenes, that now will show their talent to the world; and Hollywood is not ready for this. No one is ready about the future, about the people today who are able to narrow that gap by leveraging the technology and by being good what they do. A generation from now, 5, 7, 12 years from now, kids who grow up only knowing about the internet and only knowing about the ability for video for what it offers today, they are gonna change in the way they experience video, they gonna change the way we experience a lot of things, so whats of interest to me is in the future. One of the things that I look for to make sure that people are being disrupted by the future, don’t put in laws that screw things up. So, I was fortunate a number of years ago to get a law at FCC in Washington with my name on it. You see,  in 1996, when internet telefony was first starting to breathe life onto its own, a group of trade association filed a petition at FCC asking for the sale and use of internet telefony software to be banned in America. And the makers the regulated like phone companies, which was kind of ridiculous. I use to have, I was working on wall street at that time, within about 3 days I got several 100 emails from all over the world asking what was I gonna about it, I didn't know what to do. But in 2 weeks later I created the voice over internet, or the VON coalition and I got 110 of companies, people as big as Netscape and Microsoft and Intel and as small as Vocal Tec and Net2Phone and we created a coalition to stop the unnecessary regulation of technology, simply because it was disruptive to someones future. In 2003 when the world was coming out of the effects of 9/11, out of the dot.com bomb, out of the telecom crash, I saw the light of voice over broadband was gonna change the world of telecom change face of it, I started it by, I caught it by starting the company that became Vonage. So, I was trying to protect the future. I still want today somebody go free with dial up that helps people communicate for free over broadband. I filed a petition at the FCC in February 2003 asking for regulatory clarity that voice that starts on broadband internet and dosen't touch a legacy phone network, and ends up in the broadband internet for that not to be  regulated as telecom. It took a year. I fought oppositions from the phone companies from the DOJ, from the  FBI and all sorts of people. February 2004, as the February meeting of  the FCC on February 12, then chairman at the FCC Michael Powell, three and half to one and half vote, issued what's now known as the Pulver Order and that declared that voice over broadband is not telecom, I think now, we need to go back to Washington and try to get a similar ruling for video on the net, to make sure that people are free to create content at will. That they're not going to held back by legacy franchise laws, legacy laws dealing with what the content looks like but really is focused on delivering innovation including a platform for change. So, I look to the future I'm worried, but confident that we have a chance. So, I've been really looking at where we are, where we are going and try to pave a way so that somebody’s mistake becomes a great innovation for somebody else. But the public policy issues which others just go to because they can afford to create these roadblocks, they are getting in the way of our ultimate future, I think that particularly in the world of video on the net, you know, that Hollywood will not know what hit them. But 7 or 10 years from now, it will be a much, much, much different world.

How do the sides stack up on the Network Neutrality debate?

The problem with net neutrality today is the spin doctors have been working so hard,  I couldn't tell you which side of equation I'm on, because what net neutrality meant to me 2 years ago, two and half years ago and even what it meant to me 8 months ago, does not  mean the same thing today. It is clear that people with the deepest pockets out there are out to smear the name of anybody who doesn’t agree with them. But, what’s clear to me, is that if you have access to the pipes, you wanna make sure you have unfettered access, so that innovation continues. That people who are being disrupted by this change don't unfair competitive tactics, to stifle innovation. The last thing we wanna see in America is for the internet to be like China. Now, we understand natural security, we understand things for common good, but beyond that, frankly, is for Comcast or Cox or Verizon or AT&T think that a view, that a customer of theirs shouldn’t see the content from Network2.tv, because we have some stuff that's competitive: screw them! Because yes, there is an issue about balance of payment, theres issues about maybe I am a free rider to them, but you know what? Maybe it’s my application that there is a reason why 10,000 people in their network in Chicago are subscribing. You know, that's only one side of that *** you know we provide the pipes, or put billions of dollars into the infrastructure, but frankly if it wasn't for things like Google and Amazon and eBay, why would people go on the internet today. So, people just like to, you know, the people with the loudest voices seem to be the ones with the deepest pockets. One of the nice things about internet is that sometimes its an equalizer. People who are just out there, sometimes your voice is heard, and if its heard enough, my hope is that people will not stand for this and it’s up to the people at the end of the day to figure out what’s good and not good. There could be critics, they could be on a movie, they could be on a TV show, but it’s the people who define what a "hit" is, it’s the people that define what a runaway movie is gonna be. And I do hope that at the end of the day, the common wisdom of the people will be heard. After all this is America, so while we do our paid politicians out there and we do have the lobbyists, I have, I have to hold out hope that people will not let the bad live. That at the end of the day people will realize what they need, is to create an environment where there is balance, not just one sided one way, or one sided the other way, but it’s a give and a take. And within that equilibrium everyone can coexist. I mean we may not always agree with everybody, but you know what we respect, we respect what they have to say and as technology changes, may be there is a better way to approach it. But I don’t think to day is the date say “Gee, I know everything”, because I don’t think anyone know everything and as a clause to that: the future is unwritten. As long as we understand that we can go forward and at least I can believe that one day we will figure it out and get it right.

How do you differentiate between a short video on Youtube and something with a little higher production value?

Jeff Pulver: Well I'll give a classic example. I have a cousin from Chicago, this summer he and some friends went to Indianapolis, they went drinking for the night and my cousin Eric shot two videos on his cellphone. One was he and his friends jumping over fire hydrants interestingly enough, and then they had a few more drinks, one of these brilliant guys tried to jump over a parking meter. I put this content on Youtube. I thought it was very funny. One of his friends unfortunately ended up with three stitches. But that was funny. But that was no quality whatsoever, it was sorta like like look at what we did last night. I've built an internet TV studio, and I believe that people who are dedicated to the genre of creating quality, that itself is what differentiates between Youtube and everything else. Its not people aren't  using Youtube to promote commercials, movies see what we know about the lonelygirl15 situation but by and large 99%, may be 98% of the content that is on Youtube thats original that doesn’t infringe on someone’s copyright, it’s crap. It’s fun, its social there is defiantly a market for it, but there is no, not necessarily is that content going to be exclusive, but it is a way to socialize and experience. What I am talking about -what I look for in network too,  is I look for people who are dedicated to the idea of creating quality programming. People who are dedicated to creating episodic TV on internet. I don’t call podcasting, I don’t call webcasting, I call it the internet and television. In the initials T V, bring out the certain feeling in people. And what I'm trying to promote is the idea that some time in the future, over the public internet, you going to be sitting in your home theatre and watching amazing shows like RocketBoom and ZeFrank you can watch amazing shows even my friend Steve Lawfield does some great work. I mean theres just so many people out there today that are so familiar they are looking for their niche and doing great things. People talk lot about Long Tail, well I think I've discovered Long Tail TV. Where there is a commitment to quality where even on network too, where I think you have everything from comedy to cartoons, everything from fun, family entertainment, to some stuff thats out there but nothing too edgy, but it really comes to a basic philosophy of what you believe in and what you're dedicated too. Now its true, that most of the people creating content that I have run in to have a day job. Their night passion is creating best content they can. I mean people, um, the team of  people for example, somethingtobedesired.com is creating great Episodic TV, they've been doing it since 2003, and I do hope some of those guys get discovered that their appearance on the internet is a launching pad for their future careers in cable or broadcast or some place else. We are still like the very-very early stages of trying to figure out business models. You see, these people are doing it for the love of doing it, everything thing else will grow. So, when I look at Youtube vs. MeTube or JeffTube, you know it's really more of really the focus, the effort, the energy and the dedication and the seriousness of what is all about. I learned just a couple of days my title at network2.tv is Head of Programming, because I am the one who is figuring out what show to pick up and frankly, the last two weeks I've been deleting shows more than I've been adding shows. But, I am working and try to figure out the business model for everyone whose passion is to create content, where they all make money. We all have to figure out our ways in this new world on how to the success of one could socialize into the success of many.

What are some of the things that can be done on the internet as opened to satellite and cable?

Well philosophically, one of the biggest issues is you have of course from a content creation perspective is from the network side you have cable companies and you have these phone companies, who offer these IPTV services. What they have in common is that they're both walled gardens. Neither AT&T nor Verison is offering you as the creator of content a platform to be an innovator. Its a closed garden. Most of the wireless companies who are providing mobile TV content; its also a closed walled garden. Where thats really interesting though, is advent of video on the net is open. There are no walls. Now some networks based on public policy, may now allow a subscriber to see the public access content either on their cell phones, which otherwise avoid video or on the networks. As far as how you differentiate further it really comes down to access. It comes down to how they look at programming. If I have to ask you, you know, do they really need or really want, in a market place a competition to the cable TV network? Maybe the subscribers do, but if the competition is simply being the same as something else, what’s the point? So, where we have the opportunity to effect change, where if you have an idea for a show, well guess what? Tomorrow we go to BestBuy and buy yourself a HD camera and tomorrow night you can start editing and if you have a voice, the nice thing about the internet, no matter how big it is today your voice will be heard. And if you're doing some that touches someone else, that has shared common experience will be viral. And the  networks do not know today how fight viral video. And so I think frankly it was very interesting for Google to purchase YouTube. Why? Well, yes I do believe that the "Field of Dreams"  business model is still alive and well  that if you build it, they will come and buy you, it is true. Well at the other end of it, if you look at some of the other core assets that Google has like GoogleTalk that has a micro payment engine, as well as the ability to monitor presence and has voice communication, if anybody out there today is going out to build the real TV network of the future, Google has all the parts right now. Whether they do it or not is up to their internal politics and their own ability to connect the dots and  to not stumble in the way of innovation. But as far as what’s out there is just amazing, I mean its; I love the idea that the dot com vision never died. It just went into hibernation. But I like to believe that when people have ideas, that those ideas would find a home. That most inventions that we had over the last hundred years, no one really went out to discover that many things, but it was a bad mistake that the father and mother of invention, it was their mistakes that moved us forward in time, that when we look back and go “Oh god Wow”. And so I think on the internet we are at those wow points today. We've been very fortunate that for the past twelve years that our generations is living through a new industrial revolution. Something, frankly, that our parents and most of our grandparents never knew. It's something, though that I want to tell my kids and their kids, that everybody out there have a chance to redefine the industry we live in and the industries of the world. We are in this together and also what keeps us apart with in the opportunities that are today had never been better with so many things and I have to appreciate the innovation of YouTube and the guts of Google to go out and take their currency, their stock, and see what happens.