How live video is developing and becoming more and more used by people. An article I wrote in the October issue 2008 of our trend report Urban Lifestyle Report - New Media.

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BRANDS MEDIA PEOPLE
LIVE VIDEO
a part of our everyday lives? Text: Linda Pierre
The trend is continuing to point upwards and we have
seen a lot of new services enter the arena like mobile
live video services Qik and Swedish Bambuser, and
also sites like Mogulus and Ustream.tv focusing on
the computer as a streaming platform. For the mobile
services a success factor might be coming pre-loaded
on mobile phones, which is something that Qik has
succeeded with. And you no longer need a smart-phone
to use Qik, they recently launched a broader support
for many other regular mobile phones from Nokia and
SonyEricsson.
In early 2007 we were all invited to follow Justin Kan who mounted a webcam on his baseball hat and
started streaming his life 24-7 via a backpack with a laptop and mobile Internet. Justin swore not to
stop streaming his life ever, but really the goal was to generate buzz for a community of lifecasters
called Justin.tv which now has over 1 million registered users and several million unique visitors each
month.

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BRANDS MEDIA PEOPLE
SMS has just passed voice calls as the is at physical events. If you can’t be there
biggest use of mobile phones in the US and in person you can at least look at the most
according to analysts live video will be one interesting keynotes from it in the comfort of
of the most important ways for people to your home or office.
show what they are up to in the future.
The fact that Qik now becomes available
Sharing everyday life experiences with for a wider audience might just increase the
friends and/or the rest of the world is a speed with which mainstream consumer
strong trend and has grown a lot the last groups will accept this new technology. But I
couple of years. The will to do so has think it will take a while before “everybody”
probably been there for much longer, but it starts sending their lives live 24-7. But there
is now that it is becoming cheap and easy are huge opportunities for brands to use
enough to be able to do it on a large scale. this new technology to entertain, educate
Blogs for instance are a widely popular and and or engage in interesting conversations
used platform to do so and status updates with the consumers and open up for more
on sites like Facebook are quickly becoming transparency. Without going through big
a part of people’s lives. It remains to be seen media’s editing room and being colored by
if live video will be as huge as blogs. If so it journalists, companies can actually talk
won’t happen over night, at least not for the directly to consumers and even let them ask
mainstream consumers. The services are questions in real-time.
still in most cases in beta mode and mostly a in life. Another similar example of sharing
playground for early adopters. One challenge the moment of birth is Ginny-Marie Case who Of course this trend comes with both
though is the mobile Internet connections twittered her way through her labor when she opportunities and threats for brands. The
that for most people cost money depending had a baby, well maybe not the whole process good news is that this is a great tool for brand
on how much data they transfer. If we would but pretty much... ambassadors to spread the word about your
see more widespread free wifi in more places products and services. But the flip-side to
I think that would definitely give a boost to Having the opportunity to start streaming that is there might also be people who will
these types of services. your life live to the world at any moment is use this tool to show their dislike towards
really mind boggling. In these cases it’s not your brand. We are entering a world far more
For tech savvy early adopters this is not a like TV channels going live to push out well complex when anybody can start sending
high price to pay to be on the bleeding edge produced content, it’s about people sharing live video at any moment without an editor
of technology. One of those people is Stephen their lives. It gives you an opportunity to or clear ethical guidelines to follow. There is
Heywood who sends The Tech Buzz via his have a conversation with your viewers and always two sides to new technology, brands
Ustream.tv channel on a regular basis. On to interact while streaming. Maybe even let and marketers need to see them both in order
a special day in his life in early September them influence the direction of what’s going to make the best of the situation, to utilize the
when his wife gave birth to their daughter on. Another interesting area in which live new opportunities and to avoid the threats as
Samantha he also streamed her first moments video is starting to become an important part much as possible.