This is where I’ll discuss new forms of online video distribution.

I’m going to discuss things such as RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and how it works with different feed aggregators. Essentially, RSS has changed the rules when it comes to who can broadcast the media content they’ve created. Today, by using an RSS feed, anyone can distribute the content they’ve created without the barriers associated with traditional media distribution. Whereas before only those with enough capital to invest in their media content could get it distributed on the popular networks, today the Internet has provide a network where anyone with a camera and some editing software can make the next great movie (the real question for anyone who watches online video is, when will this finally happen?).

While RSS has changed the way we can distribute what we’ve created, it has also changed the way we consume media content. Syndicating your video online involves asynchronous consumption by the audience (everyone watches your video at a different time) instead of the Synchronous consumption associated with traditional media (everyone sits in the theatre together or everyone “tunes in” at 9pm for American Idol). This asynchronous consumption not only changes the way the audience perceives what they’re watching (it now being a much more private experience than television or the cinema), combined with the Internet as a platform, it also opens up new possibilities for media content producers to interact with their audience.