Dear Hulu,

We’ve been friends a very, very long time (by Internet standards). Do you remember, more than a year ago, when I became a beta tester in your closed environment? You wrote to me:

This private beta is our chance to gather real user feedback, so let us know not only what you like, but also what you think we could be doing better. There is a feedback button located to the left of every video screen. By clicking on the feedback button, you will open up a feedback form where you can easily provide a suggestion or comment. You also have the option of sending your feedback directly to feedback@hulu.com.

The team will be reading these messages every day and we hope to address your feedback as soon as possible. Over the course of the private beta, we will be adding more content and updating features, so please check back often. For now, videos are available for streaming in the U.S. only. Our intention is to make Hulu‘s growing content lineup available worldwide over time.

We hope you enjoy the Hulu service and look forward to hearing from you

I listened, dear Hulu. I gave you that feedback. I was diligent and honest. I had hope for you and believed in you while you were still a youngster on the Internet. There was promise. You were the change needed on the Internet.

I still spend much time with you, Hulu. Especially now that I’ve given up regular pay-for-TV service, you have become my entertainment / documentary hub. You’re that friend I cry with, laugh with, and cheered on the penguins of Antarctica with. I have watched movies and televsion shows with you. I watched the first run of Crawford, and your series on MLK. You, Hulu.

So imagine my dismay when you became such a fairweather friend today. I tuned in to watch a historic event. You had promised it would be available and just stuttered and started. I never got to see the speeches, hear the music, or see the crowds for more than a second before buffering took over and my views of the event were distorted (and what does that say about my interpretation of what happened today?).

Hulu, we will still be friends even though you have challenged that friendship a bit. Don’t forget me, Hulu, your longtime friend, over those johnny-come-latelies who don’t love you as much as I do.

Maybe we should appeal to President Obama to include you and your kind in his technology agenda. Would that help you become the best friend you could be? If it would, I will write letters.

Yours in longevity,

dawn