Joost and Viacom - a win for desktop Rich Internet Applications

The big news all over Techmeme today is that Joost and Viacom are partnering up to provide Viacom content for Joost users. Joost is an application that I haven't covered a lot because I don't have an account, and haven't been able to say much about it. It's written partly using XUL however, so I've been keeping my eye on how they deploy and the groups they're targeting.

I know people love the browser, but as MarlonSmith, one of my commenters said: "service and content providers will initially shape what RIAs will be, then consumers will shape what RIA's should be, not any platform provider. EBay, Yahoo and the New York Times have already started placing their bets and those bets are on the desktop." Add Joost to the list of companies that is deciding on a desktop delivery model versus the web browser model.

And it makes sense. With Rich Media, you want the experience to be front and center and you want to be able to make pixel-precise design and user interface tweaks that just aren't possible in the browser. The fact that Joost is leveraging parts of XUL means they can take people with web-centric skillsets and then apply those to the desktop. The great thing about the desktop is how much control it gives both the developers and the users in terms of a customizable experience. I'm excited to see what users think of Joost because I think they're using the right model.

ZDNet has a lot of coverage: Between the Lines, Googling Google, Web 2.0 Explorer, The Social Web