I'm fascinated by the development of what has been dubbed 'Two Way TV'.

NewTeeVee yesterday had an interesting piece about what French platform operator Free is up to. The beta of their Perso service allows subscribers to jack an S-video cable into the back of their set-top-box, and create a channel that other users can watch. Subscribers can simply replay home video straight from the camcorder for Granny, hook up some professional kit for a a full channel, or anything in between.

Another interesting innovator in this area is kyte.tv. Their service is similar in intent, but works across the web and mobile with some nice social features to find and contribute to channels. Robert Scoble has shot a demo video [56MB mpeg]

Two way TV is essentially a combination of personal broadcasting (YouTube style) and communications stuff like phone IM and video conferencing. I think that combination is pretty interesting, because it gives people an opportunity to both express themselves and to communicate with others - two fundamental human needs.

In common with many others that have traditional broadcasting experience, I have been sceptical of this type of application in the past. Let's face it, most great TV takes a lot of resources and experience to make. That experience is in short supply because until recently the number of places to screen content have been limited. There are a limited number of producers who have delivered a full season of scripted drama, or directors who can hold together a complex unscripted reality event.

YouTube and similar sites have demonstrated that, along with the rubbish, a whole heap of great content appears when distribution channels are opened up to everyone. The mistake I made was not thinking carefully enough about the different forms of content. Of course most drama requires significant resources and access to the very best writing and production talent. However, a couple of stand-up comedians with a good concept can reliably put together something compelling like Ask a Ninja.

The big question: What kind of content will be popular to watch and create on Two Way TV?