Current TV Converging From a Different Direction

I've just become aware of Current TV, a combination of a Web site and a cable network that seems to me to have trapped some interesting ideas. I'm not sure it's a viable concept in the long term but it addresses convergence of media from the other side of the aisle and is quite interesting.

I spent a couple of hours watching Current TV on cable tonight. While it has a distinctly youthful flare, it has some content that even I found interesting: a piece on the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays, e.g., was a pretty decent investigative report as was a segment on meth problems. Some of it is too "young" or over the top but a good bit of it is watchable.

I am intrigued, too, by how they try to tie the Web site and the TV network together. For example, while you're watching a show you can go to the site and record a video comment. If you make a comment they think is well done, it gets shown on the network.This is a clear differentiator. Very interesting.

Their idea of a VCAM (Viewer Created Advertising Message) where their sponsors invite viewers to create and submit ads that pay$1k if they're aired and up to $60k if the advertiser uses the ad outside current TV, is particularly interesting to me. I think this bears a bit more investigating.