Google TV Is Real (?)

A clip posted to YouTube by tech tutorial channel Infinite Solutions on Friday told viewers they could access high-quality US network TV shows as part of a private test by repeatedly logging in and out of Gmail. Cynical net stalwarts immediately mocked the suggestion that the search giant would employ such arcane beta test methods. But others countered with blog posts and video responses to claim they had indeed successfully found Google TV by following the instructions.

Tutorial host Mark Erickson has posted previous tongue-in-cheek instructional videos, one suggesting users can extend their WiFi range by wrapping their Ethernet cable around a mobile phone.

Many Google watchers have said the latest episode is a hoax because no DNS entry exists for the address given by Erickson, tv.google.com. It would also buck the trend of previous Google beta tests; Gmail was made available via invitation, for example.

If fake, the video would represent not just a grand hoax but a testing of the response to any future possible such launch from Google. It is also a lesson in viral communication for many marketers.

The clip was viewed more than 100,000 times over the weekend, causing thousands of people to log in and out of their email accounts, some hundreds of times, in a desperate attempt to access the service.
[Source]

YouYube Is In Trouble

Hollywood.Com reports that due to someone illegally uploading entire episodes of 24, Twenty Century Fox is cracking down on YouTube.

Twentieth Century Fox has issued a legal summons to video Web site YouTube, after one of its users illegally uploaded entire episodes of hit TV show 24 before they were premiered on networks. Jane Sunderland, vice president of Fox entertainment group, believes the offending material--which includes 12 episodes of The Simpsons--could cause the company "irreparable harm."
She admits Fox is unable to determine the users' identities without the help of YouTube and LiveDigital--a smaller video content site--and a subpoena against the two companies was filed last week.

The 24 episodes appeared on YouTube prior to their primetime Jan. 14 premiere on the Fox broadcast network. Fox became aware the episodes were on YouTube six days earlier, according to the subpoena.

YouTube and other similar video-sharing sites normally inform content providers they will delete copy-written material when alerted by the relevant parties.