It's Like, Right Now

So a friend was contacted by a producer at Current TV to possibly have one of his projects showcased in the future. "Current TV? Never heard of it." Well, apparently it's like MTV plus YouTube and is definitely the most interesting thing happening on television. Strangely, it was started by Al Gore. Maybe he really did invent the intranets.

Users create "pods" which are uploaded to the site and then fans can vote for these pods to receive their own spot on television. Each pod is typically only a few minutes long -- perfect for your miniscule attention span -- and many of the topics are on things you'd never see anywhere else. Pods on pre-fabricated houses, an insane no-holds barred shooting range in Kentucky, a Wax Poetics magazine feature. Check out what Current's playing right now.

Another cool thing is that many of the ads on Current TV are also viewer generated. So you make an ad for say, T-Mobile or Toyota, and if it airs, you get paid.

The most impressive thing about all this is that the production values are really really good. I'm not sure how it happens, if producers come to film your idea when you've been chosen for distribution, or only the cream rises to the top, but the segments are all nicely filmed, produced, and edited. It's what MTV could have been and what YouTube wishes it could be. It's the future!

Our first great find on Current TV was "Joe Gets." It's just a series of little clips where this guy goes around learning about different skills, jobs, and lifestyles. Joe Gets Air, Joe Gets Saddled, Joe Gets Goth, Joe Gets Served.

The first one I watched was Joe Gets Pix. Anyone who says "you're a hungry hungry hippo" to a model while trying to get her in the mood is pretty awesome. The one-liners, quips, and reactions that Joe dishes out is hilarious.

If Joe looks familiar it's because he was on Beauty and the Geek where he was voted off pretty early and didn't get to display his sense of humor at all. After that, he was just an average schmo submitting stuff to Current but he got promoted and picked up after his videos consistently rose to the top of the rankings. Now he's the funniest man on television.