B&N has been dabbling in online video for a little while now. Up until now, they have mostly focused on promotional items, featured books, interviews and events. Now it appears they are moving towards Internet TV shows with the recent addition of both “Tagged” and “Book Obsessed”. I always applaud innovation (although it’s more about adoption here than innovation), particularly with new media and really think that this format is something that more and more people are heading towards and B&N have done a fairly good job embracing it.

While not my cup o’ tea, I think these two shows will appeal to an audience who may not necessarily be early adopters of Internet TV. For the early adopters, these slick productions that mimic shows and formats you will see on TV are not necessarily what this new medium is about. It’s more about grass roots, organic, user-centric shows driven by personality and content. Shows like Happy Slip, Wine Library TV and Rocketboom have been a few that have resonated with Internet audiences, so to see these new shows tends to be a little awkward for those used to these other formats. However, in the name of progress, I think we’ll be seeing more and more of these shows with budgets and crews and pre-production and post-production that will most likely appeal to a larger audience.

I don’t think I’ll be a regular viewer of the B&N shows (not to mention the fact that it’s really tough to subscribe) but kudos goes out to them. Where’s your Internet TV show Powells?

:paul