I spent some time last night writing this article about FlipShare 5.0 and FlipShare TV.  Today, it's become clear to me that most of the industry writers don't have a clue what this is about, let alone how revolutionary it is.

Almost to a one, the pundits think this is simply a way to watch your Flip videos on your own TV.  "Isn't that what the TV output jack on the Flip is for?" they ask.

Here's your scenario:  Your child is away at school.  You bought him/her a Flip for Christmas/Hanukah.  You bought yourself a FlipShare TV -- a device that kind of resembles a smoke alarm, but hooks right up to your TV.  (If it's an HD TV, you'll be watching HD video.)

Your child shoots some video, puts it into a FlipShare channel on their computer, and gives you a text 'key' to their channel.  You turn on your TV, set it to display the FlipShare TV device, type in the key to your child's channel, and you're watching their video, right from their computer, using a remote control, from your easy chair.  Now THAT is cool.  It's also a lot easier to set up than it is to describe.

Of course, you could be watching your own video (or photos) from your own computer, all organized in categories in FlipShare, and you can even import video and pictures into FlipShare that were taken with other cameras/camcorders, and that is cool, too.  And that is a better way to share them than sending them upstairs to stare over your shoulder at your computer monitor.

This is one of those cases where people see something new with a vocabulary created for something old.  This is new.  Give them time, and they'll understand.