I think the future of television will be streaming online and on-demand. I watch nothing when it's actually on the air. My DVR is my best friend. For me as a content creator, one of the most rewarding use of video is to change the world for the better, even if it's just a little bit at a time.
I run a non-profit so I know how important it is to have a platform upon which to spread the word. So now, I am making it my mission to get non-profit organizations to understand how to use effective storytelling to enhance their mission statement.
One of my most recent projects was for an organization called Say Yes To Education. It's a unique educational organization because it doesn't just throw money at schools or cities to use for education (and you know that lots of money disappears into a bureaucracy, rather than helping kids learn). This organization directly pays the college tuition of students in selected cities. For those who attend Say Yes To Education's member colleges, the ENTIRE tuition is paid by the organization. When the dollars are used like that, you know the students directly benefit. In Philadelphia, Say Yes To Education mentored a class from kindergarten through college, their siblings, and even their parents received benefits.
The biggest mistakes non-profits make on their websites is to heavy-handedly tout metrics with dense, text-laden home pages, over-selling the organization's mission and not telling the compelling, first-hand stories of the clients they serve. As a broadcast television veteran, you have to draw the audience in with people they can relate to. I hope you have a little time to take a look at the Say Yes To Education videos I created, along with videographer/editor Allison Davis. You can see how much more effective it is to feature each student telling their personal story in his or her own words.
And if non-profits need any more reason to include more video on their websites, take a look this NY Times story about the Participant Index. It helps measure the impact of films, documentaries, television shows and online video in spurring people to act on a cause.