THE POINT
Posted
in
My Damn Channel
with tags
My Damn Channel
on
6/14/2009 3:21:38 PM by
Rob Barnett
Our 2d anniversary arrives next month. Taking stock tonight. Thinking about the reasons we birthed this baby. Thinking about the point. And honoring every collaborator still passionate enough to rally against bullshit.
Warren Chao & I started our ride because YouTube turned old media upside down and ignited a new democratic digital revolution. Media corporations born in the 1920's don't do rebellion well. It became clear that timing and technology gifted us a chance to launch a new, independent media company.
We set out to serve 3 masters:
- to give talent unprecedented freedom to create for their fans
- to give our community the best original work from artists without all of the usual network interference in the way
- to give brands the benefits of reaching one of the most engaged, mass audiences created since the birth of Rock & Roll.
We saw 3 distinct video doors opening:
Door #1: User-generated, aggregated
Door #2: Repurposed professional
Door #3: Original
YouTube created and won the first game. All who attempt to grab this throne face a heavy slog.
There's clearly a business in repurposing television and other old goodies through new media distribution. But we're not the moguls who control that solid gold.
We create original, episodic comedy, music and sports with artists who are as honest as their fans.
Our staff is ridiculously small. Our goals are extremely large. We're heading into one of the more 'interesting' weeks (long XTC story about that another time) and we're heading into the 2d anniversary zone by honoring U humans responsible for creating, distributing and watching our videos. Thanks for being a part of this.