I'm angry. I'm an angry customer of Time Warner Cable because, without warning or explanation, my longtime television provider has removed the automatic "jump-back" function that has always existed as part of my DVR subscription.

So is cord-cutting a thing yet? That’s been the debate for the last few years. Sure, we all know there’s cord-shaving, but have we uncovered the cold, hard data to support the actual slicing of multichannel service provider cords? Research firm GfK says cord-cutting is still not a big driver of consumer behavior. That’s in spite of finding in its new report that 19.3% of homes report having broadcast-only TV, up from 17.8% in 2012, and as low as 14% in 2012. Are they snipping cable ties and turning to the online options available from Hulu, Netflix, iTunes, …

Anyone who has recently upgraded a smartphone from one that runs on a 3G network (say, the iPhone 4) to one that streams video and downloads songs on a 4G LTE network (for instance, the iPhone 5) knows anecdotally and intuitively that these activities are generally a better experience on the 4G LTE network. For consumers, 4G LTE is less prone to buffering and stuttering, and is one that, most of the time, just works. Wouldn't it be nice if that were simply the end of the story, and that the problems that have arisen from deluge of high-bandwidth video …

The industry buzzword that is not going away anytime soon is clearly "native advertising." Visit any industry publication, and there will be at least one recent article on the subject (I guess this is one, too). From simply trying to determine what the heck native advertising actually means, to expressing outrage when it's perceived to cross ethical lines (i.e., The Atlantic's Scientology saga), to commentators espousing the virtues of the format - you can't escape it. So let's focus on how we can make native advertising a good experience for the industry and audiences.

If you read my post last week, "Why CPMs May Go Down to Zero," you'd think that I was bearish on online media. Truth is, I'm wildly optimistic at a macro level -- but considering the general flight to quality that all industries eventually endure, I'm a bit cynical when it comes to individual stories.

Many video viewers like to hang out on social networks. Likewise, many social network users like to watch video programming. But do they want to do the two at the same time? And, do the two activities feed each other? TV networks seems to think so, based on the plethora of second-screen apps they've rolled out. But don't let the multitasking fool you. Consumers might be watching TV and chatting on Facebook, for instance, but the activities aren't always linked, nor are devices created equally. Yet.

As apps like Vine and Snapchat take their place alongside Instagram, real-time video is emerging as a necessary tactic. I've written before about the different ways marketers can use it to their advantage. But most brands and agencies aren't really built to operate at the speed of relevance. Below I've outlined five key things that marketers can do to help increase their ability to create real-time relevance in video content. They're broken up into process and philosophy, because both are required.

One trend we're seeing is TV networks ramping up efforts for a world where long-form content is widely distributed via the web, mobile devices, and connected TVs. And these efforts are having a noticeable impact, as evidenced by monetization trends, distribution efforts, and advertising demand by media buyers.

We're looking at slower-than-anticipated growth of online video advertisement revenues. According to Paid Content's Jeff John Roberts, reporting on consulting firm PwC's annual media report, "online video will increase from $2.3 billion in 2012 to $5.9 billion by 2017. The figure represents 9 percent of future online ad spending, but this is still a small amount compared to TV ads - which PwC predicts will pull in $81.6 billion, or 37 percent of all ad dollars in 2017."

The use of exchanges is growing in online video, but the market is still dominated by direct buying on major sites. That's one of the findings in a state-of-the-industry report from video ad management platform Vindico that analyzed video impressions across the Web for 2012.