Sit Back & Watch: NewTeeVee Station

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OmMalik/~3/308556616/

Over the past 18 months, there has been quite an explosion of video choices on the web. The number of interesting shows keeps going up by the day, making it harder to keep up with the new, cool stuff that makes Must-See-NewTeeVee. I’ve often wondered, what if there was a web service that collated and curated the best of the NewTeeVee shows, finding cool videos before they became a meme, shows that genuinely entertain? In other words, a web app that took the time to scrub out the noise and deliver the best video experience according to select editors. I wanted a place on the web that would do all that but during the lunch hour — the new prime time — and without cutting into people’s daily Facebook fix.

It was a wild idea, I admit, but it seems like the guys in our little company were up for the challenge, and in less than three months have brought it to fruition. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you NewTeeVee Station, available now at station.newteevee.com.

Some facts about NewTeeVee Station:

• Features editorial reviews of online videos written by a team lead by Liz Shannon Miller, who comes to us from Variety and the Daily Reel.
• Has over 100 NTV shows & videos as part of the launch effort alone.
• Sports a database of cast, crew and other details to map out the expanding web video universe.
• Invites readers to become part of the editorial process by adding their own reviews, comments and ratings.
• Boasts eight channels of the most memorable comedy, commercials, drama, music, news & talk, personalities, reality and zeitgeist picks.
• Showcases what’s hot at that moment, right on the front page.
• Can be subscribed to via the Station RSS feed or be bundled with NewTeeVee Feed.

It’s still a work in progress, and will be for a time, as we plan to tweak and improve it each day for the foreseeable future. I didn’t want to place the “beta” tag on it because I feel that the web keeps evolving, and web applications keep growing, just like all of us — and we never put a beta after our names. Om 2.0, however, is OK if you’ve had a heart attack and change your lifestyle and habits. Sorry for that personal digression, but it’s an important backdrop to this new site.

In my opinion, the most unfair part of the job of CEO/founder is taking credit for the work that everyone else puts into making your dreams and crazy ideas become real. So I wanted to set the record straight: This new effort is a testament to the intelligence and excellence of the GigaOM team. Apart from coming up with a harebrained idea back before my heart attack and some occasional Jobs-ian rants, this is the work of the following people:

On the editorial side, Liz Gannes, Liz Miller and Chris Albrecht worked with our tech team of Chancey Matthews and Kyle Johnson. They were all shepherded by Joey Wan, who rose to the challenge and became the project manager for NewTeeVee Station, in addition to helping us out on Structure 08. Mule Design came up with the design to fit with the original NewTeeVee look, and the folks at VodPod worked hard to help us build the viewing widget. Our editors, Carolyn Pritchard and Celeste LeCompte, helped add spit and polish to the editorial content.

Liz on NewTeeVee writes: “I haven’t meant to neglect NewTeeVee lately, I swear. But I have a very good excuse (and a newfound regard for product managers and PR people!)” Yes, it has been a great learning process. Thanks everyone, you made us all proud. When we all gather together soon — we will pop the bubbly! Now let’s watch some NewTeeVee.