'platform over distribution'

Richard forwarded on to me this link:

http://www.orb.com/

tag line:

Download Orb and start MyCasting all your media to any Internet-connected mobile phone, PDA or laptop. That's media freedom. Unlock your media - music, photos, videos and TV anyplace, anytime, with anyone

which reminded me of Slingbox, and their new product SlingMobile:

SlingPlayer™ Mobile turns your compatible mobile phone into your personal television, letting you watch and control your own TV from anywhere—at airports, shopping centres, at the park, or simply anywhere you go.

which in turn gets me to John Battelle's musings on the differences between old-school broadcast and narrowcast media and the nascent world of User-Generated Content:

The point is that people find the process of engaging in [User-Generated Content] fulfilling in its own right. Tens of millions of us love following the conversations on our favorite blogs, reading and participating in community-driven sites or social networking services. And where tens of millions of people go, profitable business models follow.

I would have thought the implication was obvious, so i'll finish Sphinx-like: what if you build it and they don't come?