Much has been said about computers and specifically the internet being a major threat to Television and its? dominance in our lives for many decades now.

The most frequently quoted example of this threat are the widely quoted statistics that clearly show that the internet has caused people to spend less time in front of their Television sets. Actually no other medium, through the long years of Television dominance has managed this feat.

Still, the internet in general is very far from un-seating Television. Yes, people may spend more time away from Television because of it but they will always inevitably go back to their favorite seat, strategically placed somewhere infront of the tube to relax, be entertained and to catch up with the news of the day.

So if Television were a living person, he seems to have relaxed a little in terms of having to face a serious competitor or threat. But it really is not the time to relax. The internet has come up with a brand new medium that has taken the world by storm and should be taken very seriously as the most serious threat to the dominance of Television, in history.

The medium I am referring to is the blog or web log.

Blogs started humbly and innocently enough as an effective way for people online to share information. It has rapidly grown to a medium that has already dramatically changed the publishing world as we have known it over the decades. The very future of newspapers and mass media as we understand them today (not just Television) are under serious threat. And very serious threat at that.

Blogs mean that anybody with an internet connection can start publishing information to the world very cheaply. Experts are already saying that the age when a few powerful men controlled the information we received (through huge, powerful media houses) and thus were in the unique position of slanting the news to influence us in the way they wanted us to go are over.

Apart from the recent American Presidential elections where blogs featured very prominently there are dozens of other examples of the power of blogging and how it is going to take over our lives.

Probably the most dramatic example of things to come was during the recent Tsunami crisis. Long before the mainstream media caught up with the news, video footage of the havoc being caused by the disaster were already posted and being viewed online, all over the world.

So why should this be such a huge threat to Television?

Let us stick with the Tsunami example. Imagine a situation where blogs are news mediums dependent on hundreds of thousands and probably millions of people out there for information. Many of them with web cams that can easily record events as they happen and easily post the video clips on their blogs, like it happened with the Tsunami. This automatically gives them wider coverage than any other conventional media house can ever boast of.

Now it is extremely unlikely that anybody will send off a video clipping to their local Television station, just like that. But a blog is a totally different cup of tea.

Then there is the limitation of the local Television station when it comes to international reach. And the tsunami story was an international story requiring urgent international reach.

Now you can begin to start appreciating the power of the blog and just how much of a threat it really is to the future of Television.

There are numerous other advantages that internet blogs have over Television. Another one has to do with the issue of specialisation. The era of mass media programs is really gone forever. People have specific interests that they want addresses and in many cases they will differ with that of their neighbour.

This makes a blog dealing with a specific subject of interest very appealing and as a result, a very powerful medium indeed. So what would stop a blog hosting a soap or any other entertainment linked to its? subject of interest? For example a marketing blog having a captivating soap where the future of a family business hinges on their executing a family business turn around with the help of a marketing expert.

Anybody interested in marketing, Like I am would hardly spend time in front of a Television set with such entertainment available via the net.

That is how powerful blogs are becoming.

Currently the growth happening on the world wide web is all attributed to blogs. They are the driving force and actual engine of the current growth online.

Actually blogs have a lot going for them. For example they have arrived at a time when the internet is rapidly becoming a quality multi-media tool. This means that apart from written stories and text, a blog can easily store video footage, complete with sound and quality pictures.

Although the issue of bandwidth is still a nagging problem in many parts of the world, this is rapidly changing and it is very clear that we are swiftly heading to a situation where the internet will be a full multi-media tool capable of producing quality that can rival that of any Television. It really is just a matter of time.

Again, working on computer has yet another huge advantage over Television. And that is the fact that for most people these days, a computer is a work station. This means that you can actually be entertained even as you work. Already this potent combination is available online has really taken the world wide web by storm. Yahoo the site that started off as a small search engine site has recently introduced music with options where anybody can create their very own music station that specifically plays their taste in music.

This is a feature that is transforming work places across the states and all over the world. This is hardly surprising and is a taste of things to come.

If working late will not stop me accessing my favourite blog soap (it even sounds right already) then you can imagine the delight and joy that this will bring to millions the world over.

Working late has not been the only hindrance that has come between people and their entertainment. Transfers and postings to stations in other countries have also been a major hindrance. It has meant that you cannot access your Television programs at home. And even popular shows that are exported all over the world will tend to be years behind at best.

With entertainment coming through the blog, this problem is suddenly and completely wiped out.

Not to mention yet another advantage in the fact that the internet, unlike Television, is totally under the control of the surfer. With a simple click of the mouse, the surfer can move on to wherever they want and they can be very specific in their request for information and entertainment. With Television, one is limited to the number of Television stations available and their programming.

It really is difficult to predict the future with accuracy but there is little doubt that a form of online entertainment very similar to the blogs of today will in future pose the biggest threat yet to Television as we know it today.