I do not like television as we know it and there is nothing new about it. I simply can not understand why thousands of people gather at the same time to watch a certain episode of a certain soap. But then I heard about Joost. I will not go in to details what it is and how it works because that is pretty well described on Joost website.

As I checked their site and couple beta reviews I was more than happy to see that there are no pre-scheduled program. Instead people are able to pick what they want and whenever they want. And because the content is delivered per request it seems to provide more possibilities paid content. There are plenty of big names providing content and advertisements.

While looking at something like Joost it is very easy to see how old fashioned and plain stupid digital television project is in Finland. Analog broadcasts will be shut down mostly during this year and citizen were urged to buy buggy set top boxes for their television. There were great promises of better content and interactivity. It feels somewhat wasted effort as its lifetime will be short. As broadband connections are widely available and people are already used to utilize it for Skype, chat and various content, it will not be a big step to start using it for same needs as television.

National and regional content will be driving factor for its spreading in Europe. People do not really mind where their favorite soap is coming as long as it is available. But lack of forced scheduled program will cause a change in their minds. People will be free to schedule their days and shops will not be deserted during Bold and the Beautiful - as it used to be in Finland when its popularity peaked.

Lack of schedule can also be a problem as people are not used to make such individual decisions. They will watch all the available episodes in a row, they will be totally dead on the next day at work and they do not know what to do on the next day. There will be demand for video jockeys who plan playlists for such people. Hmm, such a profession...