Hulu invites are everywhere!

I got my hulu.com invite a couple of months ago and have been enjoying episodes of House. Hulu.com, if you don't know is soon to be the premier site for watching TV shows on the web. Hulu.com has lots and lots of shows that you can't find anywhere else. (It has current episodes of the Simpsons! Whoo Hoo!)

Until today, it was really hard to get a invite. This has all changed. You want an invite to hulu? You can find them at thise links.

GigaOm
TechCrunch
Mashable
ReadWriteWeb

Commercials done right: esurance.com

I have always had a love/hate relation with commercials on the TV. Back in the day, I liked commercials. I felt that they were always a peek into “The Next Newest Thing”, since they were able to be filmed and broadcast fairly quickly. I was also a fan of the “viral” commercials from those days and still quote some of the lines 20 years later. Of course we all know “Where’s the Beef”, but do you remember such gems as “Don’t take the car, you killlll youselllff!”, or “That’s OK kid, I never could say Chevrolet”.

Now that all the web based shows have commercials, I still have this love/hate relationship with them mostly boarding on the hate. I love the fact that there is just one commercial every “break” instead of like five for regular TV. The thing I hate about these commercials is that they take f-o-r-e-v-e-r to load. A 30 second commercial sometime takes a minute to load on my slow connection. All the while it is stuttering, and spurting and very annoying. It seemed that the advertisers just did not “get it” and have made the web commercials too slick and download heavy. Of course, since the same stupid commercial is played every break, by the second and third views, it is downloaded and actually plays fast, but that first time… Aaaaarrrrrgggghhh!

This all changed yesterday when I saw a bunch of different commercial for esurance.com. These were killer! They were made with flash animation and loaded super quick. No stuttering, or skipping. Not only that, but the animation was really killer. I want to see a whole show based on the main character! Yes, the commercial had nothing to do with car insurance, but who cares! It was kick-ass and loaded fast. The best part for the advertisers is that I actually I remembered the company, and that is all that really matters

Video Podcast to Watch: Midwest Teen Sex Show

The Midwest Teen Sex Show is a great example of how you can produce quality content using nothing more that a couple of friends, a great idea and brilliant writing. I have been watching this show since episode 3 and suddenly a bunch of new episodes showed up in my RSS reader, so I just got another dose, and it is still quality.

Now, be warned, the Midwest Teen Sex Show is not for the weak of heart, as this show talks about sex in a very frank and up-front manner that would make some people very uncomfortable. Frank and up-front are the key terms here, so be warned. With that said, I find this show very, very funny and super clever. Almost every episode I have thought to myself, "no, they did not just say/do that". Very cutting edge in the presentation of the material.

This show is like a 1964 Sex Education film mashed with that one scene from National Lampoon's Vacation. You know the scene, with the kids, in the Midwest, and that question? Yeah, THAT ONE.

Anyway, if you want to see video blogging / User created content that is done the right way, go and check out the Midwest Teen Sex Show. I wish all of America was this enlightened.

NBC gets new player (s)

It looks like NBC has upgraded its 24|7 player and added download capabilities. We decided to catch up on Heroes since the season is now over and I thought I would check out NBC to see how the viewing experience was. My loyal readers will know that usually Heroes is watched via Netflix Watch Instantly, but this time I decided to try the NBC 24|7 site. Well, the NBC site has changed and the streaming video quality is really great! It also seems that it streams better on our slow-ass DSL connection, so that was really nice. However, we did still have problems viewing it, as it would pause and then jump back to the beginning, which was very annoying.

I also checked out the new download service. You can download specific shows to your computer and then play them back on the special NBC player. The shows only play on the NBC player and they obviously have DRM built in. I tried to convert the file into something I could watch on my Sansa, but no luck. Also, I never did see the show I downloaded, as it only sticks around for 48 hours and I was not quick enough and now the show is gone. Now I see why everyone hates DRM.

In conclusion, NBC 24|7 is better, but it still sucks and the download service just pisses me off. Hey, at least it is progress. I am sure they will get it right soon.

Joost launches Facebook integration.

Last night when I was watching Kid Nation on Joost, I noticed a new feature. Somehow Joost had been talking to Facebook and knew that I had a Facebook profile. Then Joost automatically told Facebook that I was watching Kid Nation (actually it say I was enjoying Kid Nation) and wanted to post it to my Facebook News Feed for all my "Friends" to see. I of course said "yes", so it did.

I like this feature! Facebook is all about "showing off" to your friends about what you are up to on-line and this is just another way to do this. Next time you are watching Joost, check out this new feature for Facebook, as it is way better than that zombie thing, or even super wall, or favorite friends, or magic 8 ball or...

Google Video: The Boy with the Incredible Brain.

Looking for something interesting to watch? I suggest "The boy with the incredible Brain" on Google Video. Google Video? I thought they were going to pull the plug on that one, but I guess it is still around. The Boy with the Incredible Brain is a documentary about a boy in England that has unbelievable powers of computation and memory. He learns a new language in a week! This video goes in depht about his skills and you get to learn how his brain visualizes numbers. Totally amazing. This kid needs a job in a think tank or something. Anyway, if you are looking for something good to watch, you will like this show, as it is a preview of what we can all become.

Joost Show to Watch: Aqua Teen Hunger Force

It always surprises me how many people are not familiar with this totally hilarious Adult Swim TV show. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is about a Shake, Frys and Meat paddy that are supposed to be private detectives. Of course the whole private detective thing was dropped very early in the show and now it is just bizarre adventures that they have. This show can be a bit crass, but all in all, I think it is very clever. This is a show that you have to watch a couple of times before you really start to find it funny. The Mooninites and Carl are really great side characters, so make sure you watch the show until you see them.

For those that still are not familiar with the show, remember the bomb scare in Boston that was created by characters for a TV show drawn in a home made light bright? Well, the characters were the Mooninites.

Anyway, if you are looking for something new, or if you are already an Aqua Teen Hunger Force fan, check them out on Joost.