It takes freaking forever to load, but it’s really pretty. What is it? Sort of a cross between Digg and YouTube. And NPR. The site is an extension of Gore’s two-year-old TV network Current. Current.tv started out as a new idea in Television. The cable channel, which can now be seen by 52 million people worldwide, was to be an experiment in user-generated cable. A station that explored complex issues via tiny documentaries that could be consumed and absorbed by the short-attention span generation.

The new Web site and the TV station are tightly integrated, and the result is perfect for people who watch TV and surf the Web at the same time. Richard MacManus at Read/Write Web explains the appeal in his excellent review:

What I like about Current, apart from the awesome design, is that they’re attempting to change the way television is consumed and created. It’s a much more interactive experience, where the audience participates and creates.

I buy the theory that young people are watching tv and on a computer accessing the Web at the same time. So the pod format [see pic below] is, in my view, an innovative new UI built around this new form of television watching. It’s a bit like when Google created Gmail - they built it for the Web, rather than copying the desktop paradigm. Likewise, Current has developed their pod UI based on a new form of TV/Web experience, rather than copying traditional TV programming formats.

I encourage you to read the full review. Then click over to Current.com and wait for the damn thing to load. :)

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