Television affects everybody – some, more than others. I couldn’t imagine my childhood without Saturday morning cartoons or afternoon specials. When I first heard about ZDTV, I was thrilled – though I was never in a position to receive it. The network became TechTV after Paul Allen’s aquisition, but its programming remained as remote as ever. Still, I wanted my TechTV like teens of the ’80s wanted their MTV. Music has mass appeal, but talking about technology has always been relegated to the lunatic fringe. We choose technology as a lifestyle, but often forget that most lifestyles have no choice but to use technology. In this sense, Hollywood is probably not going to serve our community needs half as well as we can serve ourselves. Yesterday’s rally is testament to the idea of a “TechTV” – not just the talent supporting it, but the very concept of technology content on the television screen. The Web is wonderful, but the TV is still socially legit.

Robert said… “TechTV is already here and it’s WAY better than what was on the real TV network. Did TechTV ever put videos up to teach you how to do something really geeky like use ASP.NET 2.0? No. They couldn’t have. They would have pissed off 90% of their audience.”

No, it’s not already HERE – it’s “all over the place,” and that’s only part of the problem. It’s true that you don’t need a lot of money to make something look good, but “talent” is equally as important (if not moreso) than the content itself. If TechTV ever put up videos about ASP.NET 2.0, it wouldn’t have pissed off their audience – it would have put them to sleep. Sometimes, all people need (and want) is a high-level overview. It’s the same reason why you probably only look at the first ten results from a search engine (and seldom scroll past the fold). Do you think the entertainment business would be in business if it wasn’t entertaining? I hate to say it, but knowing how to operate a camera doesn’t make you a photographer – just as knowing the difference between nouns and verbs doesn’t make you a writer. This isn’t about pissing off an audience, Scoble – it’s about supporting, embracing, and extending a community that was abandoned! 6,000 diggs is tough to ignore, dude.

The TechTV Alumni discussion list is totally jazzed – because we miss connecting with our ol’ community as much as they miss connecting with us (yes, even the people who hate me). As more details emerge, we’ll be sure to share them. The “TechTV” name is dead, but its spirit is still very much alive – and marching forward.

What Made TechTV Different

Per the article posted today in TG Daily, Xfire gaming network to be acquired by Viacom, rolled into MTV Networks, comes a biting statement about the G4 network:

Viacom’s competitor in the cable arena, Comcast, is the owner of the newly semi-redubbed G4TV network, which was originally devoted 100% to video games, but has recently branched out to, shall we say, unique forms of “interactive television,” including repackaged reruns of the original Star Trek series with added graphics that interact with…themselves. Ratings numbers give G4TV the unlucky distinction of being the least viewed basic cable network in America – less than evangelistic channels, less than third-rate shopping channels.

Holy sh*t… dead last? I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry, quite honestly. I loved being at TechTV, and I believe there’s still a place for technology on the television screen. This news is really too bad, as it’s likely to discourage any other network to pick up the ball and run with it. Talented geeks are hard to come by – and even when they can be found, you have to be willing to pay for their services.

G4 is a Big, Fat Loser