Redlasso Suspends Blogger Access to Search Engine

On Friday, Redlasso shut out bloggers from it excellent video search engine. This move occurred due to increasing pressure and lawsuits from a few near sighted corporations.

Rather than come up with a mutually beneficial way to work together, the networks decided that a lawsuit might be more effective.

“We are very disappointed in the actions of select networks. We believe we have always acted within the law and have been respectful of the networks’ rights. Unfortunately, they have forced our hand and are denying the blogging community access to the Redlasso platform that beneficially tracks the usage of newsworthy clips across the Web,” said Ken Hayward, CEO of Redlasso.

What I find particularly frustrating about this is the strange sense of deja 'vu. Once again new media is fighting against the old. Time and time again, the reaction of the old media is not to embrace change but to attempt to squash it.

In traditional broadcast news each network is like an island producing their own content. Once that content is aired, it goes in a vault and is never seen again. These broadcasters have dipped their toes into the web by offering streaming versions of their content but this attempt pales in comparison to what Redlasso can do.

Redlasso allows near real time searching of video and radio content. It is adding value to content which in most cases has no replay value. By allowing search against this content viewers are exposed to these broadcasters in new and interesting ways. If one finds a particular clip or program interesting they may be more inclined to visit the broadcasters site.

Rather than fight new forms of media distribution they should embrace it. If not, they are doomed to the same fate as the recording industry.

If anyone has any opinions on this, I welcome the comments.