Some people out there might agree with Mark Cuban and say that the Internet is "dead and boring" because today's Internet includes an element of stability and cohesion that the infant 'Net lacked. We must respectfully disagree. Would you say that a relationship has to be "dead and boring" because years together have cemented an interpersonal bond into stable and secure ties like marriage and familial expansion? Of course not. Relationships, media platforms and modes of expression grow more complex with age and continuously reveal new dimensions for exploration. Today, people are only beginning to understand the full potential of the modern Video Internet.

Text Internet

Like the evolutions of vaudeville to movies or radio to television programming, we're in the midst of a media evolution. From the humble beginnings of the Text-Only Internet, Marc Andreessen and his ilk brought us into the light of a picture filled landscape of bees and cats and blink tags - an Image Internet of words and pictures. Sound followed. The Audio Internet gained prominence in our lives largely thanks to Apple's iPod and iTunes Store along with its less than legal file sharing counterparts in the original Napster and countless other peer-to-peer file swapping networks. Apple and others including Commerce Internet giant Amazon.com have made a go at shaping the next dimension of the internet by selling us movies and TV shows, but it's Google's YouTube that's really paved the way for the 'Net's next growth spurt.

With the currently sufficient bandwidth and a populous comfortable with the basics of Internet utility, the Video Internet is evolving as a platform for shared ideas and Entertainment very much the way the text and pictures Internet was ten years ago. Today's podcasts and web shows are the web sites of nineties. Just like fledgling HTMLers in the last decade learned that their computers had become mass market publishers practically over night, so today individuals are learning that anyone with a webcam and an Internet connection can have a weekly or heck, a daily show and reach millions of viewers. Corporations too are following the same train of thought they rode at the Web's start: any company can produce video programming aimed squarely at target markets. Sure, corporate America will continue to sponsor more general fare that might happen to have a demographic that overlaps - but why not step into this new vehicle and target captive audiences with laser targeted messaging. It all feels familiar, and not in a stale and dead way, not in the least. There is an unmistakable energy and exuberance for building on these basics.

Video Internet

We put out a call to Mr. Cuban and any of his followers in this perceived death of the Internet: open your eyes to the opportunities and innovations of the Video Internet. Witness the majesty of YouTube and the fresh creations like TubeMogul's distribution model, Blip.tv and other hosting sites' emerging ad models, Mogulus and Stickcam's forays into live video (not to mention the pioneers in life-casting at Justin.tv), the integration of video posting in blog platforms like Squarespace and Blogger. And most of all look at the content, a vast world of innovation and creativity that is constantly pushing the technology to better itself to keep up with user demand for this new media platform for information sharing and entertainment. Visit the iTunes Store Podcast section or any one of the dozens of distribution platforms springing up. You can watch a cross section of the Video Internet right here at For Your Imagination including educational programming like bschooltalk, Design2Share and The Shirtless Apprentice, the freshest comedy on the planet with The Patrice Oneal Show - Coming Soon! and the "Woody Allen of the Web" in Break a Leg. Instead of pouting on the sidelines at the passing of old glories, marvel at what's happening all around you and pick up your own camera to be a part of the vibrant life of the Video Internet.