INNOBLOG

Lifecasting was born on March 19, 2007 when 23-year-old Yale-graduate Justin Kan launched his new website Justin.tv, a 24/7 live streaming broadcast of his life. With a mobile webcam strapped to a baseball hat, a high-speech cellular uplink and a battery pack in tow, Kan broadcasts his daily activities which can range from checking his email at an internet caf, going on dates with Justin.tv fans, or discussing the business strategy with Justin.tv co-founders.

Justin.tv was conceived six months ago as a new business venture and has entered the budding internet video space with a low-end disruptive strategy. After a brief scan over comments left by Justin.tv fans, it appears as though Justins lifecast addresses the consumer "job -- "make my workday more interesting and website designer Emmett Shear has equipped the website to get this job done. The audio/video quality is far from perfect and often stutters and freezes, but the quality is "good enough for those who are interested in getting a peek inside a day in the life of a stranger. When Justins activities are particularly mundane, viewers can discuss Justins life in one of the 23 embedded chatrooms, watch clips from earlier broadcasts, check out Justins daily schedule, or post suggestions on what Justin should do next. At any point in the workday, Justin.tv fans have multiple options for engaging with Justin and other fans.

Ultimately, Kan and friends will package and sell the mobile webcam technology and personal website to consumers who want to stream their own live video diary. In time Justin hopes to create a community of lifecasters whose websites will mimic television channels. With multiple simultaneous lifecasts, viewers can "tune in to their favorite personality, chat with others about the content, or directly interact with the lifecaster via text or instant message.

After appearances on the Today Show and ABCs Nightline, Justin.tv has gained its share of fans as well as critics. Many predict Justins lifecast will end once the novelty wears off. But what appears to be an exercise in vanity is in fact the collaborative effort of a few twenty-somethings to democratize the media. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Kan identifies the potential applications for live video broadcasting in different contexts, "Imagine what you could do if you had the ability to broadcast live video from anywhere, anytime. It changes the way news is gathered. It makes a whole new kind of travel show possible. It allows the broadcast for sports that arent large enough for ESPN. With this statement in mind, Id like to hear about some of your ideas about the other potential applications of this technology. Is there a future for lifecasting?

See:
"Asian Pop: Man with a Cam. SFGate.com. March 27, 2007.
"Justin Kan Vlogs 24/7 at Justin.tv. Washingtonpost.com. March 27, 2007.
Justin.tv