Google: Coming To A TV Near You
Google is getting its own TV show on Al Gore’s new network, Current. The show, Google Current, will be a news update based on Google search data, airing every half hour. From the press release:
“Google Current,” built using samplings of popular Google search data, including from Google Zeitgeist, complements the free-flowing pod format with news updates each half-hour. Thirty seconds to three minutes in length, these segments buck conventional news practices by reporting not on what media editors decide is “news,” but on the topics people are actually searching for right now. So news isn’t what the network thinks you should know, but what the world is searching to learn.
About Current:
The first national network created by, for and with an 18-34 year-old audience, Current will offer 24 hours of programming in a unique, short-form content format when it premieres August 1.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin:
We’re pleased to collaborate with the entire Current team to help this network make the world’s information more accessible.
And his other half, Larry Page:
Current is an exciting new direction for TV programming that enables any viewer to have the opportunity to broadcast their video to the world.
Working on Google Current will be Conor Knighton, who will act as host and associate producer.
Conor Knighton (host & associate producer of Google Current), who, while pursuing a degree in film studies and writing from Yale, wrote for the books division of the Yale Daily News and created much-ballyhooed sketch comedy, subsequently heading to L.A. to pursue a career in television, acting in various film and TV roles, working as a freelance writer and proving his esoteric knowledge by winning $13,400 on the game show “Pyramid”.
As C|Net explains, Current is more akin to podcasts than television, with free-form content (15 seconds to five minutes) provided by viewers (it even calls these segments “pods”). Current will initially be available in almost 19 million homes, replacing World News Internation. I get it, so I’ll be watching all the Googly goodness. Oh, and check out Current’s website and their blog (which seems to be missing an RSS feed [watch out for Scoble]).
Others:
Search Engine Journal
Pod segments include “Current Playlist” (music for the digital generation), “Current Parent” (advice to first-timers), “Current Gigs” (career guidance) and “Current Soul” (trends in spiritual awakening). Drawing from audience submissions are such pods as “Current Courage” (profiles of heroism and altruism), “Current Video” (video clips from the next Spielbergs or Spike Jonzes) and “Current Rant” (inviting viewers to let off steam).
Makes Sense. People were always talking about media intergration and how television will eventually be integrated into the Internet.
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Looks like they fot it wrong. The Internet’s going to be intergrated into television.
Comment by Nicholas | April 4, 2005
No surprise that Google would come up with a show for the guy who invented the Internet.
Comment by Stu | April 5, 2005
[…] Al Gore’s Current TV launches tonight, and with that comes Google Current, the twice-hourly current events segment based on current Google search data that I reported on back in April. As Dirson reports, Google Current will run every thirty minutes in 30 second - 3 minute long segments, with topics based on the most popular Google searches, like the Zeitgeist. Current TV’s schedule: […]
Pingback by » Google Current TV Show Launches Tonight InsideGoogle - part of the Blog News Channel | July 31, 2005
“Oh my God we are launching a tv channel.”
So, Al Gore’s new network Current launched today. Current is doing the MTV* style of programming, however instead of music videos, it features viewer-submitted and otherwise “underground” sort of…
Trackback by Screenhead | August 1, 2005
Now that I have viewed Current I can only say “what a waste”. The exchange of News World International for Current is a prime example of the dumbing down of news in America. News World International was the one place to go for news uncluttered by pundits and with a non-US point of view. Al Gore got it off the air, the Republican National Committee must be very pleased!
Comment by wayne howdeshell | August 1, 2005
I can’t watch Google Current or Current or whatever else you want to call it. The flashes, jumpiness, screen moving about like a drug addict looking for his next fix type of programing is NOT for me. I like to watch, listen and pay attention. This is clearly for those unaware of the “dumbing down of Americans.” What a shame, for all of us.
Comment by Michelle | August 20, 2005
[…] Has anyone seen Google Current on Al Gore’s Current TV? It sounds really interesting — I gotta check Comcast tonight. Pie me Flickr babay. […]
Pingback by Riceplate » Google TV: Art & Design | August 21, 2005
the red green show on pbs is ten times better
Comment by jon | August 27, 2005
I’d like to see a more detailed analysis from those who panned “current”. I’ve seen a couple of hours or so (have it on in the background as I work around the house) but, it seems like concise snippets of the world. Less “pre-chewed” than network news. There is the occasional “banal” story, but far less than network TV. I’m an animator/graphics guy, so I like the design, so far. I may not like or agree with the stories but I like the format. It’s one of my “go to” channels.
Comment by Ed | August 28, 2005
News World International exchanged for this??? …DAMMIT.
Comment by KP | September 3, 2005
I like it!
Maybe I’m the demo but it’s been “nice” to view during Katrina - being able to watch people, who would be my peer colleague, out there reporting is quite refreshing.
But is it really based in the Hollywood Lautner house or is that a set?
Just curious
Comment by smpetersen | September 13, 2005
Google Has a TV Channel?
In case the $4 billion stock sale wasn’t sign enough that Google had jumped the shark, try Time Warner channel…
Trackback by Ari Paparo Dot Com | September 19, 2005
google pods will provide the portal for all communications and entertainment.
google pods are like ipods on steroids
Comment by ae larsen | January 16, 2006
I just saw Mr. Knighton’s drivel (Two Media) in which he takes a shot at Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter. I have some friendly advice for this actor: Find another show. Taking either one much less both of these two giants will only make you look like a fool. They are waaaaaaaaaay out of your league. I know you haven’t read a single book these ladies have written. Neither has your “producer.” But you are the one who will be identified with his or her script.
Oh and dump the “Friends” fashion and clasp your hands behind your back until you know what to do with them.
Comment by Mike Netherland | February 10, 2006
Conor Knighton should have his intestines ( if he has any ) removed through his nose. He is totally out of touch with reality and, like the perverts he defends, should be placed against a wall and shot. Google Current looks just like the whiny product of Al Gore ( who, as we all know, invented the Internet.)
Comment by Mike | February 10, 2006