WSJ Online Puts Video Content Front and Center
We may have just quietly passed the point of no return.
The iconic and venerable Wall Street Journal has placed a video player prominently on the front page, updated with twice-daily live newscasts on WSJ.com. I think I just felt the ground shift a little under my feet.
Remember when the WSJ added color to its newspaper? That apocalyptic change was debated for months in media circles. This is a couple of orders of magnitude more significant and consequently will get much less attention.
Why did the WSJ do this? Well, as the New York Times explains "A major reason is commercial." Uh huh.
More and more people are going online to find what they want - information, news, entertainment, friends, etc. and video is quickly becoming the easiest and most compelling way to consume content online. Online video advertising, while still small compared to TV advertising is growing quickly. The money will follow the crowd.
Many things could have signaled the transition from the "text" web to the "next" web: rich media penetration rates, the number of YouTube videos viewed per month, or the percentage of companies using video on their websites.
I think the symbolism of the one of the world's foremost print publications prominently featuring video on its website is as good a signal as any to suggest that online video has finally arrived.
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