Content Continues Pouring Online

The flood gates are officially open for content flowing onto the Internet.

Sure you still can't get quite everything, and much of what you can get comes tied to dubious usage restrictions, but there's no denying the tidal shift of the last year, where premium content used to be limited and now every major TV network offers free full-length first-run episodes and all the major film studios are working with multiple online distribution partners.

But this story isn't limited to the possibilities of online video supplanting traditional television and DVD distribution. The Internet is also witnessing an upsurge in the availability of content through experiences only possible on the Internet.

Take for example Paramount Picture, which just launched its VooZoo application for Facebook. What VooZoo does is give Facebook users access to clips from thousands of its movies to watch and share through the social network.

Or Marvel Entertainment, whose been pushing a Digital Comics Unlimited initiative that gives online access to thousands of comics you can read right on your computer (assuming you want to as I have to admit I tried this out and found the reading experience a little unnatural).

And if we want to expand the definition of "content" even further, then check out this Wired article that lists a handful of super powerful telescopes that are accessible over the Internet, either to control live or have pictures taken for.

There's no end to the content continuing to pour online. As there's more good content we'll have more reason to go online. As we're online more, we're likely to find more content that interests us and the cycle can continue.

Ultimately, we should strive towards making the ultimate realization of the Internet a reality, where all content is delivered online in one fashion or another--your TV and movies, radio and CDs, books and newspapers and comics.

To get to that point won't be easy, but it's reassuring to know that the flow of content onto the Internet continues unabated, as only by filling the shelves of the Internet's library will we be able to entice consumer habits to shift from tradition distribution to the 21st century, where all the world's content is instantly at your fingertips.