It was announced today that web TV portal Hulu is going to make their first original series, teaming with Super Size Me's Morgan Spurlock on a show called "A Day in the Life" which, not surprisingly, shows the day in a life of someone. I say not surprisingly not just because of the title because it seems fairly similar (albeit 29 times cheaper) to Spurlock's last television venture, "30 Days". Although that usually had people trying something new for 30 days, if I remember correctly, rather than just documenting the day in the life of a person.

Still. with more networks pulling their content and putting it on the web themselves, this seemed like a step that Hulu HAD to take. And I am pleased to see that they are taking the relative high road here instead of just churning out a flashier, trashier reality show. I think it's smart to keep the brand name Hulu clean for a bit longer; don't delve into the garbage until they have to. Still, since 30 Days didn't really do that well, I'm not sure how this show is going to fare nor do I think it is smart for Hulu to just make one show. The problems I've always had with with online content providers are that they either only have a couple of shows or they have a bunch of shows but no release schedule and therefore no reason for me to check in every day. If Hulu truly wants to stay relevant, one of the keys is to move beyond just showing video and actually deliver original daily content. The venture I've always wanted to try is a Huffington Post/Drudge Report for entertainment that also has a consistent web series schedule (to start, I was thinking one show per day.) You get people checking out your site for the news every day and you also deliver a new ep per day ala a scaled back regular TV sked. Yes, the content will cost money (which is what has kept me from it) but, at the very least, Hulu should still try to break into the entertainment news angle. How hard is it to just do what Drudge/HuffPo do and aggregate (aka steal) news from every other websites? The biggest hurdle is getting the name out there and Hulu already accomplished that.

The current Hulu model worked because it was really the only game in town. But now with networks hosting shows on their own site and Amazon selling shows for two bucks and no commercials, the competition is out there and gaining steam. I don't know if it's lack of vision or refusal to spend money but right now it seems like there aren't many second acts in online life. How many websites have been able to shift with the times and stay relevant rather than falling by the wayside? Hulu is taking a step in the right direction but it is a direction in which its competitors are already sprinting; one small step is still going to leave them in the dust. It should be interesting to see if they evolve and expand and maybe the new ownership has plans to do so but given the history of the web, the safe bet seems to be that, in the future, Hulu will be a thing of the past.