iMedia Podcast: Web as Entertainment

As digital technologies have gained momentum, the one-way broadcast model is no longer relevant.

It's no small fact that almost 55 million Americans watch or listen to streaming media online, according to Arbitron's study, "Internet and Multimedia 2005: the On-Demand Media Consumer." That number has more than doubled since January 2000.

This dramatic increase in online use of video and audio has marketing executives scurrying to get involved. They have begun to realize the true value of the web as an entertainment vehicle and as the medium for a new generation of original programming. However, the availability of digital production tools has lowered the barriers to entry for who can create high quality content, meaning that the interactive medium no longer belongs solely to the big media elite.

The rapid growth of interactive content has transformed the role of "consumer" into that of "collaborator." Americans can now determine what media they consume and can do it on their own schedule, rather than sitting back while a single broadcast is directed at one million viewers.

So, with consumers, producers and advertisers all developing content for the web, what exactly does the future look like for entertainment online?

Today, two of interactive entertainment's top thought leaders, Todd Herman and Vince Messina, will give you their predictions. Herman warns us: "We have a tendency to run over ourselves because we think that just because something can be done it should be done. We can't assume that technology drives media. Consumers drive media."

• How can video vendors and agencies best work together?

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