Joost has 1 million users: So what?
Internet p2p-TV startup Joost has finally revealed their numbers, according to Mashable. Revealed from Estonia, the user base has passed a million. Personally, I was very excited about Joost before receiving an invite two months ago. After using it for several days I ended up tremendously disappointed, however.
The delivery, quality, AND content were atrocious and I have not re-tried Joost since that first disappointment. Of course, I am included in that 1 million + user count, as are many of my underwhelmed friends.
These numbers mean nothing. We need data about active users or the information is useless. I feel we’re approaching similar challenges in calculating the userbase of social networks and distributed web services like Jaiku or Pownce. Companies that aren’t reporting active user data are possibly afraid of doing so.
Back to Joost, I think the entire concept is out-dated and out of touch. It’s a classic “lip-stick on a pig” or, better, “web-2.0-on-a-broken-business-model” scenario. Restricted, ad-supported broadcast models like this are ineffectual and anachronistic. Services like the opensource Miro, formerly Democracy Player, while still far from complete, are where attention should be paid. Thankfully, the future of video on the web is more likely to be Miro than Joost.
A comparison could be drawn to satellite radio, another technology I find misplaced and confusing. Yes, we’re creating more niches for broadcast, but the model still relies on inefficient and impersonal generic channels. For a society accustomed to P2P, iPods, Last.FM, and MySpace Music, satellite radio is set up for failure — especially following the XM-Sirius merger.
If you’re the type of sadist who liked Cronenberg’s Crash over Paul Haggis’ Crash I can always send you an invite to Joost. But don’t expect to see me on there.
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