Speaking of television, I read, and for some reason keep angrily re-reading, an exceptionally wrongheaded editorial in the London Free Press, proposing that given our newfound ability to fast-forward through commercials with ease, we should agree to abolish commercials in favor of tasteful product placement. That would be the compromise, to insist that it be low-key.

Now, I feel like this is the sort of thing Wired pointed out years and years ago, but since I can't find the article: people will willingly stop, rewind, and watch commercials that look interesting. I have been yelled at for not doing this during America's Next Top Model: it's how I found Beauty and the Geek. It's also why I've seen so many Xbox 360, movie, and PS3 commercials — in fact, I've even gone on YouTube and sought out exceptionally good commercials, like the "banned in the U.S." Xbox 360 commercial "Standoff" — and I don't think I'm the only one who does this.

Recorders like TiVo can track what commercials I'm watching and which I skip, and I only watch commercials that interest me... shouldn't that put tremendous pressure on advertisers to make better, more interesting ads? I've argued before that we're in a new Golden Age of Television, both in terms of programming options and coach potato technology, but as commercial-skipping recorders becomes more dominant, I see the potential for a corresponding Golden Age of Advertising.

In fact, I can imagine a world where I don't have to fast-forward. At the commercial break, TiVo just pauses the program and pops up a window with silent, small, labeled, looping video previews of each commercial. I can press a single button to go right back to the program (the television will also go back to the show automatically after a period of time I can specify, default 10 seconds), or I can watch the commercials of my choosing. Sellers get kickass marketing data and I don't see a second of television that doesn't interest me.