With the public launch of Hulu on Wednesday, all eyes will be on NBC and News Corps’ new video network as they attempt to finally catch up with users demand for high quality video content online. But despite Hulu’s slick interface and the millions of dollars being poured into it’s development, I can’t help but think it’s a shortsighted effort.

The problem is that NBC is trying to force the traditional broadcasting model into the web, rather than recognizing the full potential of revolutionizing how content can be delivered online. By limiting embedded videos to only 5 weeks (after which, they’ll simply expire) and not allowing international access to videos, Hulu fails to take advantage of the anytime, anywhere content model provided by the web. Rather forcing users to play only NBC-approved digital sandboxes, they should learn from CBS, whose strategy is:

“to pursue open, multi-partner, nonexclusive relationships with established video destinations, widgets, and application vendor companies, as well as regular syndicators,” says Quincy Smith, president of CBS Interactive. In short, says Smith, the company wants to “take it to where the eyeballs are.”

While CBS’s revenue from this model is still minimal at the moment, they recognize that the web is only going to continue disrupting the traditional broadcast model. The companies that succeed will be those that leverage a distributed approach across all digital touchpoints by utilizing easily sharable content and new metrics for measuring traffic performance.

Perhaps it is fitting that in Swahili, Hulu’s name means “cease” and “desist.”

Recently, my colleague Trace Johnson posted three valuable recommendations for improving your web site. The first recommendation was to “Get Web Analytics.” But, why should you care about Web Analytics?

Not because you care about analytics.
We know, it sounds a bit contradictory; but analytics for the sake of analytics doesn’t help anyone. Web Analytics is a means to an end. It is a tool designed to provide insight into your user’s experience, and in turn improve your ROI. So, once again, why should you care about Web Analytics?

Because you care about your users.
Your web site is all about your users. If you don’t have users, your web site is useless. If your users don’t like your web site, your web site is ineffective. Analytics can give you real insight into the desires of your users. It answers the questions, “What do our users care about?” and, “How does our company motivate them to care?”

It allows you to truly give the user what they want.

Not only will you learn why users are visiting, you will also discover if they liked what they saw upon arrival. We often find that users are interested in different content than what the web site owner assumes. If your ‘News’ page is packed with items regarding how to run a business; but the most popular items are the few which describe your products and services, you need to know that. Analytics provides a framework for improving your web site as you learn what type of content causes people to leave, and what type of content inspires user interaction.

Because you care about your company.
Analytics provides your company with hard data on the effectiveness of your online initiatives. Is your web site good enough? Is it producing a high ROI? Are you spending too much time and money on it? Or perhaps not enough? Analytics will tell you.

Having Analytics allows your company to precisely measure your ROI. By creating goals such as sales, newsletter sign-ups or contact form completions--just to name just a few, you will know exactly how successful your web site is in raising money, brand awareness, user interest and leads. You can use that information to scale your web marketing expenditures up or down. There has never been a more precise tool for measuring user interaction and ROI.

If you care about your users, and you care about your company; you need Web Analytics. 

Mashable always seems to bring out the DC-area’s best social media crowd, and last night’s Mashmeet DC Remix was no exception. Hosted by Ogilvy’s 360 Digital Influence team and partnering with The Social Times, the event lived up to its remix name by throwing in a new programming twist from their previous networking events by showcasing several presentations in addition to the steady stream of business-card sharing and networking.

Streamed live online by JanMedia, Mashmeet gave Searchles, Voxant, Mixx, Lumifi, and Kluster an opportunity for lightning-round demos of their products and services. However, it was Kluster—fresh off their much-publicized demo at TED—that got the crowd talking. Kluster puts the “wisdom of the crowds” on steroids, allowing companies of all sizes to tap the masses for ideas on just about anything from logo design to problem solving, and then compensates with appropriate cash rewards for participants. As the web rapidly enables companies to better interact with their customers, look for these crowdsourcing services to really take off. In the meantime, Kluster’s creative approach and slick UI sets them ahead of the pack.

Despite audio issues with some of the presentations, and a few that could have benefited from some “gentle reminders” to keep it within their five-minute limit, the remix format was a welcome change to the standard networking event. The DC-area has some incredible up-and-coming talent, and I hope that the next Mashmeet DC focuses on showcasing more of the local emerging technology and entrepreneur leaders.