Al Gore Invents The Television

Al Gore's new TV channel debut's August 1st. The channel is Gore's attempt to appeal to the internet generations (18-34). But our old buddy Al seems to be forgetting something.

Exactly why do people watch TV? More importantly, why do people surf the web, then stop surfing and watch TV for awhile? Because watching TV doesn't require us to think. TV is a recreation; a mind-numbing time-out from the world. When we watch TV, we don't want to think. When we watch our favorite TV shows, we don't want to have to click after every scene. We want to mentally check-out for awhile.

So, using internet technology for video on demand? Good idea. But, mixing TV with the flighty feel of Web surfing? Bad idea.