What trip to the Video on the Net conference would be complete without a discussion with the Founder of VON, Jeff Pulver. Jeff talked to Ed about the some of the big announcements made at VON.
Full Transcript:
Jeff Pulver: It’s been amazing, I mean the whole experience this week with the
people, the technology, the vision and the reality of seeing all this come
together. Its one thing to talk about it from far, when you bring people from
the world of Media, Internet, Communications and Entertainment together, not
just from your local town or city, not just from New York or Hollywood, but
from the world. It’s pretty amazing, I have run across people here that flown
in from Asia, from South America, from Africa, they came here from all over
Europe and they are really interested in what’s going on in the world of video
and the internet and how advances are broader than our changing what they are
doing, perhaps breaking certain things to get the same time opening up new
opportunities and that was this week that I actually announced the creation of
two things the Video On the Net Alliance which frankly is open to everybody,
as always strongly would encourage you to join, because its free and if you
are interested in what’s going on in the future, it’s a great group of people
who are helping to drive that future and set that charter. They also filed the
petition at the FCC on Tuesday that was the requesting for regulatory, for
pre-emptive ruling that, well let’s just say that we are looking for the FCC
not to regulate Video on the Internet.
As the big multimedia companies, the big moguls old school start to figure out
what’s happening to their future. There is really somebody there who wants to
take some old rules and apply to the new technology, because that’s in their,
it’s in their DNA, even if they are embracing this technology themselves from
the top to down, so sort of pre-emptive strike what already started
happening in Europe with the EUs looking at applying some type of broadcast
regulations to internet video. I’m asking for declaratory ruling on behalf of
Network 2, that in fact Video on the Internet is not subject to the
communications act into both title 3 and title 6,
which it should be a no brainer, but nothing in
Washington is ever a no brainer and really interest that we have at
heart, are not only our own, but everyone else around us.
Everyone in this place who in someway, shape or form is contributing
to this social sculpture which is making up this new Internet and what’s
really fun here at one is that we bring together the world’s phone companies,
bring together the entertainment guys and this is an event centered in this
time around Silicon Valley, so you see a lot of tech innovation and you see a
lot of people trying to figure out what is exactly going on and how is that
happening and it doesn’t matter whether or not people are talking about one
key form of communication another at the end of the day. So, new and exciting
stuff is here and its after 10 years of doing this and starting out really
small to get to a point of time when if people come here from all over the
world this is destination, it’s a lot of fun to sometimes, well, be me.
Ed Kohler: Sure, you have bit of history in the background of public policy is
it’s related to technology, why is that you are passionate about
that side of business, what kind that got you, think why that’s…
Jeff Pulver: Well, in 1996 when I was still gainfully employed, a petition was
brought forth to the FCC asking for the sale and use of Internet telephony
software to banned in America and the makers of such offer to be regularizes
phone companies, that was known as The ACTA Petition, that began then creation
on ad hoc basis, what is now know as the Voice on the Net Collision and I
started that by reaching as my data base people, when I found 110 companies
from all over the world, some as big as Microsoft, Netscape and Intel in a
small start ups and we advocated to not regulate this an ACN technology, we
advocated that if they are going to regulate it should be smart regulations
that advocation was good for at least nine years. I learned that if we don’t
make a voice for yourself in Washington, you are not heard and then only voice
it is heard is of the voice of the lobyists with people represent people with
deep pockets and telecom is one market place whenever we are dealing with the
market of television, were in the United States $66 billion was spent just on
advertising alone.
The big disruption is going to happen when advertising sales move in some
part, growing manner from TV to the Internet and so, from our perspective its
obvious that as this cards are played out, since the net is one of the place
coming up, in fact its going to be a play where lobbies can involve and try to
put their own petitions trying to block somehow the creative juices that’s
making up this nascent industry and if we don’t take a voice and standup and
do something, someone will take that voice away from us and as the matter for
fact 2003, when the world is coming back together and I was involved with
another store of technical freeware dial-up, I looked at the advancements of
voice over broadband and I realized that if the phone companies understood
what I understood, as voice over broadband was destructive to the core
business, they would do everything they could to stop it before progress,
because that’s how they work. Well, I filed the petition of my own asking for
declaratory ruling and Voice Over Broadband, it doesn’t touch legacy phone
network and ends up on the Broadband Internet, were not to be regulated as
telecom and it took a year, but in February 2004, the Pulver Order was issued
and that’s taught me that one person can make a difference, then
nothing is impossible and that if you believe in yourself and your
convictions, you can actually create law and order.
Ed Kohler: Yeah, its big difference there.
Jeff Pulver: And so, of course I did I was able to make that Pulver Order
happen, I am not shy.
Ed Kohler: Yeah, seen that happen now as law. How about you have any
highlights from the show, anything particular that…
Jeff Pulver: Well, I think for me personally Monday’s pre-conference workshops
were spectacular with the people came both on the IPTV side and the Cynthia
Bernfield the television stuff and frankly the whole, we had a lot of
interest in WiFi 6 mobile convergence, its just continues to be strong. On a
personal note being able to share the opening plenary with both Vinod and
Nicholas, that was cool…
Ed Kohler: Yeah.
Jeff Pulver: That was cool and I like some of my side comments as we know, I
was thinking of whether I am talking to myself, I first thought that if we
ever make a IPv6 happen. Then one is born to be given IP address, when we send
everybody, there is a matter how we, what kind of devices we have, of course
we know one entities when we receive DNAs has to update ourselves that we know
where we are. We just do a reboot in the morning and there you go. So, I was
starting to think that while I was on stage with those of guys, I don’t know
why? So, that was good, I really enjoyed being inside the Video on the Net
pavilion and my hotel room at Fair Mount , we hosted some receptions and some
energy in the buzz and the excitement from these up and coming Internet TV
industry is just amazing. I just being part of the furniture and just hanging
out and just being sort of invisible, that was great, that was absolutely
great. I enjoyed the blogger pannel yesterday for other reasons that was kind
of fun sharing the stage, there was Scoble and Errington and my friend Steve
Rockfield and in the end Andy and Chris Brogan, but it was sort of really the
Errington – Scoble show that’s been outstanding.
Ed Kohler: Start to get a word about those guys on stage…
Jeff Pulver: Yeah, I was like and my microphone kept on going out, which is
like OK, I knew someone saying shut-up, so I was, its OK. But, rest of it is
the whole dynamic, I look around the show floor and there are people here have
come from far and wide to be here and its fun to just watch business happen
and watch people learn and know that we are catalyst for people to go out and
start new companies, where they are as, we are platform for their companies to
be showcased and in many case its for them to be purchased or get funding and
“Oh, really” I think it’s serving on critical role in emerging ecosystem of
this new Media Internet Communications industry and its not just one sector,
but its an overlaid many and after many years talking about the potential of
the future is now and its only gets better from here.
Ed Kohler: Yep, What about Network2 is put other plans for more that’s going
next?
Jeff Pulver: Yeah, Network 2 TV is started out based on an idea that I had and
today we have over 500 different channels across 40 different categories, and
our core focus on the consumer side of Network 2 is to help you with discover
what there is to watch and we showcase shows that are hosted across multiple
places, whether its self hosted by the company themselves on blip.com or
Veoh.com or Revver or BrightCove it doesn‚Äôt matter to us we’re
agnostic and we are really looking for quality shows that represents the
best of what’s out there today. Network 2 also has the business side of it,
which is focusing on monetizing, what it means to actually be a leader in
longtale Internet TV and over the next six months lot of our plans, I think
you will see happen, this week we announce relationship with Veoh, there are
other relationships which are also existing which haven’t been announced yet,
but you will see it will be fun.
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