A few weeks ago I wrote about Boxee and how it finally nailed the 'convergence' thing. Today I woke to find that Hulu has asked to be removed from the Boxee interface. Hulu CEO Jason Kilar posted this painful blog post yesterday. Read the post. You will see a man brought to LA to create a 21st century platform for the TV and Movie titans of Hollywood. A man who succeeded in that mission. A man who has been hailed in the New York Times and who guided Hulu to its vicory as website of the year in 2008. A man who is being forced by his Hollywood masters to end a relationship that does nothing but help his company. Convergence 10 years late...this is why. The content companies are working from fear and are attempting to control something that cannot be controlled. They are bitching about piracy while simultaneously making it more difficult to watch their content (unless you organize your life around a specific half an hour each week when you must be planted on your couch). Reading Mr. Kilar's post is difficult. You can see the handcuffs. From the little I have read about the man he doesn't seem like the type to stay handcuffed for long. If he leaves, maybe Hulu can hire Gil Amelio.
Jeff Conlon is the co-founder and CEO of IMA Interactive, an online agency located in the San Francisco Bay Area. IMA Interactive provides website design, online video production and search engine marketing services to a variety of industries both locally and nationally.
