ThinkTube?
While browsing the web, I came across an article on a new company that struck me as a cross between PBS and YouTube called BigThink. So the big idea is to ask thought provoking questions to leaders in a variety of fields like politics, finance, philosophy, business, etc and throw in some social networking. Sort of what you would expect if Charlie Rose or Teri Gross embraced web 2.0 A thinking person's YouTube. Sounds extremely interesting.
I live on the West Coast of the USA and the site seems to be designed to appeal to a self-identified intellectual bicoastal audience. But I always thought the new web was about democratization and the (awfully named) "user generated content". Blogging was about taking away the power and control of the so-called mainstream media elites and have everyday folks participate in and influence the conversation. The Q&A style on BigThink leads to a one-way dispersal of information similar to what old media is so good at doing. I guess this is where the "long tail" appeal for this content shows up.
