Was re-reading "Why TV Lost" essay by PG (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=501696), which seemed inspired by Justin.tv. A lot of the points in the essay from 5 years ago were really telling, including the role of piracy in the user experience.
One interesting excerpt: "The somewhat more surprising force was one specific type of innovation: social applications... This was what made everyone want computers. Nerds got computers because they liked them. Then gamers got them to play games on. But it was connecting to other people that got everyone else: that's what made even grandmas and 14 year old girls want computers."