Revision3 Is The Future Of Online Media

Note: I have reviewed Revision3 in the past, but the new shows and updates to Rev3 has inspired me to once again give it a look.

Last year, I spent some time reviewing Revision3, the emerging online giant that I believe will be the next big thing. 

For those of you not familiar with Revision3, it's a great place for tech geeks like myself to find tech related video shows (let's call it "geekertainment").  With the demise of Tech TV a few years ago, most of the tech related celebrities vanished.  Two years ago, they started popping up all over the internet.  They started net videos, podcasts, and even companies.  Then suddenly, they all seemed to show up on Revision3.

There are a lot of positives to this company. If you head over to the Revision3 website, you will see one of the best designed sites anywhere on the net.  The experience allows you to enjoy their shows anywhere you want to. 

Rev3 has recently built a state of the art production facility in San Fransisco to produce its shows.  They can produce shows cheaply and way under the budget of any Hollywood studio.  The shows are paid for by ads that run on the shows terms, not the advertiser. 

Their distribution method is purely over the net.  Shows arrive via RSS podcast feeds, or just a simple download from their website.  Downloads can range from low quality portable video files to high def files. 

While still heavily tech focused, Rev3 shows are branching out into other topics including comedy, entertainment, and music (all still with a slightly geeky bent).  This doesn't take away from my enjoyment of almost every show that they produce. 

Their new shows are simple spot on.
1.  The Digg Reel: It's "America's Funniest Home Videos" for the web or at least the most popular videos on Rev3's sister site Digg.
2.  Tekzilla: For those of you "Screen Savers" fans, this show is the rebirth of that show.  It highlights tech news, demos, and questions. 
3.  Internet Superstar:  The next iteration of Martin Sargent.  The only think I can compare it to is the "anti" Diggnation.
4.  Giga Om Show: Tech startup journalist Om Malik hosts probably one of the most informative weekly shows out there about startup companies and their founders.

Watching "The Revision3 Gazette" is my favorite show.  It gives you a behind the scenes look at what is going on in the company.  You almost feel like you are there and have a stake in the companies success or failure.  Plus working there looks like it would be so damn much fun.

There are a few drawbacks (hey, it couldn't be a 100% positive review).  Right now, they have at least one show for each "geeky" tech demographic.  I think as the online media world expands, they are going to have to branch out into more "traditional" areas of entertainment.  They should be looking for sports, business, and news based shows.  The trick will be to give them a special formula that will draw views to them for being fresh and exciting.

Revision3 has it close to being right.  Their most popular show "Diggnation" draws more viewers per week than most medium ranked cable shows.  This is a model that is going to work.  Hopefully, we can look back in a few years and appreciate what Revision3 did for the future of media on the web. 
 

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