It’s not often that we get a front row seat on the crafting of a new communications medium. Something like television has been around so long that when the conventions of the form change, we hardly notice as it’s a bunch of subtle changes that happen over a long period of time (remember the 60 second commercial? Now we’re down to 10 seconds at times)

When moving pictures first arrived, they were only a few seconds long, playing on loops in a box. Editing, something so natural to us now, didn’t come until years after the first films were made.

Today, we have the form of video online, and we’re learning a few things. One of them is that we can’t treat it like television. People will sit through a much longer narrative in front of a TV on the couch than they will in front of a computer. So online videos have to be short and to the point.

The other element that I find to be more important online is a strong host. Online video is something that is watched on a one-to-one basis, much more intimate than television. So having a lead that you can empathize with is very important.

Here are a couple of examples of shows that I believe are really starting to figure out what works and what doesn’t with video online.

EPIC-FU is a show about technology and culture. Short, lots of info, good host. That seems to be the formula that is working for them.

Beach Walks with Rox is done by Roxanne Darling, someone I met at the Podcast Expo in September. Everyday she shares her thoughts as she walks her dog on the beach. It’s something that would not work at all in TV, but really works in online. It’s that personal connection she creates everyday, just sharing a meditation walking along the beach.

My last example is Zaproot, a show about all things environmental. It follows the EPIC-FU formula of quick, lots of info and to the point.

It will be fun to see how the medium evolves over the coming year, and we at upNext hope to do our part to contribute real soon.