As you can likely imagine I'm always on the lookout for interesting uses of broadband video. Periodically I get a heads up from others about something they've spotted; now, even closer to home, my wife has brought me an example.

In the summer we spend a lot of time in the Berkshire Mountains in western Massachusetts. Occasionally we go to a summer dance theater there named Jacob's Pillow, which my wife enjoys attending. The performers range from classic ballet to some pretty cutting edge modern stuff. I'll concede I'm not a big fan myself, but since it's hard to play golf at night, I'll oblige by joining her once or twice each summer.

The problem that always arises is choosing which performances to attend. Pictures and a text description are really not adequate to capture what you might see in a dance performance. Unless you really know these performers there's a lot of guesswork. As a result, over the years we've seen some good stuff and some weird stuff.

This summer though, Jacob's Pillow did something very smart, which my wife noticed and told me about. On its web site, for each performance, there is now a "See Video" button, which allows you to see an actual clip of the performers in action. Though they're mostly lower-quality clips hosted at YouTube, they give you a real flavor of what to expect. I'd be willing to bet that these videos are getting noticed and are helping increase attendee satisfaction.

While I spend a lot of time at VideoNuze on the tectonic influences of broadband video such as how it affects broadcasters' economics or shifts advertising spending, Jacob's Pillow is another great example of how broadband's myriad uses can help different businesses deliver more value to their customers. If you have any examples, please send them along!