Getting Inside Online Video

TV is dead. That’s why I’m delighted b5media Technology Channel Editor Jayvee Fernandez has given me the opportunity to spit on TV’s corpse by going Inside Online Video to chronicle the meteoritic rise of the YouTube Nation and its ideological neighbors. From the communities of YouTube and the moolah of Revver to the greed of Fox and the vanity of Justin.TV — we’re watching it all unfold, baby.

Free your mind from the grip of greedy network execs. Kill commercial caricature characters and listen to real people just like you. Turn off that TV and watch what you want to see — because what you see, becomes what you’ll be. Get inside online video.

Guild Wars 2 Announced

MSNBC’s Kristin Kalning calls it “an experiment that worked.” Guild Wars can run profitably without server fees because most of its game world is instantiated, cutting down data center costs. ArenaNet’s business model for the game consists of selling expansions of all sizes — from whole campaigns to PvP skill sets to character slots to soundtracks. While quite portable between multiple machines, all expansions are tied to user accounts, making piracy nearly impossible.

Looks like their episodic content business model worked even better than expected. Guild Wars 2 will host a persistent world on its servers — still without server fees. That will make Guild Wars 2 a true MMORPG, minus monthly subscription costs.

Having spent nearly two hundred hours in Guild Wars, I’m glad to hear the next Guild Wars expansion, Eye of the North, will include a Hall of Monuments allowing your Guild Wars 2 characters to inherit accomplishments from your Guild Wars characters. How’s that for a New Game Plus?

Read more on Guild Wars 2 and Eye of the North from Kotaku, Wired, About, and G4.