While online video upload sites have become
extremely popular in the web 2.0 movement, it appears that live
streaming video seems to be catching on fast. UStream.tv
offers users the ability to create their own live web channel with live
chat functionality. Streaming video is by no means a new concept but
the UStream.tv platform does make it easy for anyone with a web camera
to become a real-life Truman Show like Justin.tv.
When I asked UStream.tv CEO Chris Yeh about their product he had this to offer:
“Our story is simple. We're bringing live internet video to everyone. By removing the barriers to broadcasting, we allow the creativity of our users to flourish. While many experiments will fail, UStream.tv is the test tube that will help build the future of media.”
Over the past week I have experienced the trend first hand as several people I encountered were using UStream.tv to bring streaming reality broadcasts to the web. At the Web 2.0 Expo I was interviewed by Jeremiah Oywang live via UStream, I also ran into Justin.tv at a couple of different events and Sarah Meyers, Lindsay Docherty and Brian Solis even got into the Justin.tv act. Blog veterans Robert Scoble and Chris Pirrillo are also getting into the act and leveraging UStream.tv to produce live broadcasts.
In attempting to watch UStream.tv I have experienced some poor video quality issues but I figure they will subside with time. I think that we are only at the beginning of what streaming web tv has to offer and UStream.tv is a vaulable part of the evolution process. Check out the end of my chat with Jeremiah Oywang in the hallway of the Web 2.0 Expo below to see the video quality I was referring to - it is a little choppy but still could be effective.
