We are a constantly stimulated people who multitask to the nth degree. We text and instant message and email all while we are having a conversation with the person standing right in front of us. Why then would we not want to bring more content to the largest screen in our house, the television. News of widgets being built into HD TVs for extra news, weather, sports, etc. seems like a nice option and I will admit when I saw it I was attracted. These widgets can bring extra content to your big screen and possibly tie into the content your currently watching. A commercial could bring not only the advertisement of the product but a chance for an impulse buy right there online. You could access character bios for your favorite sci-fi series or bring up a map of the area for the travel show your watching. Now while much of what I have just described is extrapolation from the current technology available, the key point is that television is running the show. Content originates from cable or satellite and extra information is added on.

Why not take it a step further and remove a middle man in the process. Content is created by artists, journalists, and other professionals and then bundled on television. If you want Comedy Central, your going to get the home shopping network as well. If cable is not willing to a la carte or even if they are would we not have more control over our consumption of content if our television is powered by the internet? All of the widgety type functionality I mentioned earlier could be achieved much more seamlessly with an internet delivery than with cable/satellite trying to bundle more services. Television content on the internet is very available but lacks the live feature of television. Being able to come to work the next day and discuss last night’s 30 Rock is not and option if you have to wait for it to show up on Hulu. It seems to me that this content delivery model is in for an overhaul.