What to do when Progress Outpaces Planning

Technology prognosticators, enthusiasts as well as plain old geeks are often guilty of overhyping a new high-tech product, pronouncing it fit for masses of mainstream consumers long before it's ready for prime time.
But once in a while they err in the opposite direction and actually underestimate the way technology will revolutionize our work practices or entertainment habits. 

And speaking of prime time, it looks like the experts underestimated how swiftly prime time television would shift from the TV to the Internet --- by a long shot.

The New York Times reported this week that one of every five people watching the season premiere of The Office last September, did so on a computer screen. Nielson Media Research data shows that the episode attracted a broadcast audience of 9.7 million people, and was streamed to the Web some 2.7 million times in one week. Now it looks like a broader demographic is shifting to these new modes of entertainment. The Nielson research found that it was not just teens and twentysomethings who streamed The Office over their computers; 23% of the show's viewers in the 25 to 54 age group did so as well.

The runaway hit The Office in in no way unique when it comes to watching TV via the Internet. Ugly Betty, CSI, Grey's Anatomy all derive a growing chunk of their audiences from the computer crowd, people who are happy to sacrifice a little picture quality for the freedom of watching the show when and where they want.
For television networks that produce and broadcast this witty content, the big concern here is that lucrative advertising contracts will not shift from the television to the Internet as swiftly as eyeballs have. The New York Times story cites one NBC executive worrying about swapping "analog dollars for digital pennies." It is just one more sign of the coming Exaflood.