Missing the Boat?

2006 is going to be the year of video on the web. This will include both video programming from media companies and user-generated content from consumers. I've been trying my hand at videoblogging and it is quite easy and a lot of fun.

So here's the point. Camcoders are nice and have great quality but the easiest and quickest way to capture web-quality video is using a digital camera. My Nikon Coolpix 3700 takes great 640x480 30fps video in Quicktime format and the best part is they are already in clips. Digital camera vendors seem to be oblivious to this trend. In the every circular distributed with the Boston Globe this Sunday not one of the ads for digital cameras made any mention of the video capture capabilities - not one.

Flickr with still pictures is fun and it can be quite entertaining to subscribe to someone's photostream but it does not come close to a videoblog as compelling content (just check out Rocketboom for a taste). I'm not the only one saying this so I'll add my voice to the chorus. Digital Video is going to be not just big but huge in 2006. Digital camera vendors need to catch this wave to fuel growth as their business is under seige from camreaphones. Happy Holidays and here's to looking forward to a great 2006.