Follow-up on Justin.TV - failure is an option

April 26, 2007 at 3:12 pm · Filed under Video, Privacy

Justin.tv. Live streaming of someone’s life onto the Internet 24/7.

When I first heard of the concept, I thought “well, there must be more to it than meets the eye… because if there isn’t, it’s really going to suck.” Well, it turns out there wasn’t more to it than met the eye, and my prediction held true.

Justin.tv wasn’t created as an experiment of sociology and technology at its core. It was created as a for-profit business backed by venture capital. So, one would have thought there was something there—some great concept around WHAT Justin would be up to that would create the stir to propel the venture.

Turns out, there wasn’t. Justin.tv has taken the simplest, most uninteresting incarnation of ‘reality TV’ (which has been showing its age for awhile now), removed the entertainment factor, and mainlined it onto the Internet using some clever technology. That’s it.

Share This

Comments

Internet Voyeurism: Alive, well, and remarkably inane

March 26, 2007 at 6:20 pm · Filed under Video, Social Networking

Justin.tv, created by Justin Kan and Emmitt Shear started streaming over the web last week. The commercial venture has turned Justin Kan into a sort of Cyborg Piccard, attaching a video camera to his head which transmits video via a laptop in a backpack he wears. Insofar as the commercial aspects of the endeavor, the duo is funded by incubator Y Combinator and currently has two sponsors: Bawls Energy Drink and Zipcar.

About a month before launch an interviewer asked “What makes your life so interesting that people will want to watch?”

Justin’s answer:
“I’m going to go to a lot of cool parties and talk to interesting people,” he said.

Share This

Comments