Erik Hawkins is a Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder of PureVideo and PureVideo Networks. In addition to the Purevideo video search engine, PureVideo Networks operates of numerous user-generated video websites, including StupidVideos and GrindTV. Visit the company page here.

How did your recent partnership with Pixsy come about, what made you decide to choose them, and how will it benefit PureVideo?

We contacted Pixsy over a year ago just because we were interested in video search and saw some synergies between their approach and ours. We made a solid connection with Chase the CEO, and kept in touch as both of our businesses developed. We think Pixsy’s approach is innovative and effective, and we know that their results will help make PureVideo Search the best video search experience on the web.

Since you've been immersed in the online video market for quite some time, what are your thoughts and opinions on Google's $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube?

I think its great validation for the online video industry. The phenomenal success of YouTube shows that consumers are not just ready, but anxious to consume and interact with video online. I think this trend will continue and accelerate. Google is clearly run by some pretty smart folks, and they have a strategic imperative to invest in markets that have the potential to create significant value. The fact that video is a key focus only makes what we’re doing more interesting and more important.

What changes do you predict in the way people receive their entertainment and media 10 or 20 years from now?

Wow… It's very hard to predict what will happen in 2 years, much less 20. I suppose we’ll see even more time shifting, more mobility, and a cleaner user experience. Collaborative filtering and user profiles/playlists should also advance quite a bit, so you should be able to access your media collection from anywhere, or discover new media suited to you easily. I’m not sure what devices we’ll be using, but I do think that most media playback devices will be IP based, so that you can interact with the content, and so that your usage can be tracked.