DISQUS

Chris Yeh · 2 years ago

Mathew,

The lead investor in Ustream here. I too have been fascinated by the adoption of the Ustream service. I'm fond of telling people that live video is inferior to recorded in almost every way except one--it is truly interactive.

I don't think anyone knows where the interactivity will take us, but I'll bet it's going to be interesting.

Adam · 2 years ago

You know, I think we have reached -- or are rapidly reaching -- the limits to what "real time" or merely massively-increased information can offer us as a society.

Ask yourself:
- Does the additional information help me be more productive?
- Does it make me happier?
- Does it make me a better person?

If the answer to all three is NO, then... well, that says something, doesn't it?

I'm trying out Twitter. But so far, I've had to answer NO to all three questions above about it. More information, quicker information does not inherently = better lives. And for the love of dog, I have no interest in watching videos of narcissists. Justincam? Have these folks (Justin and the folks following him) such empty lives?

If anything, I ludditingly long for the days in which we "consumed" less and thought more. Nowadays -- perhaps in the blogosphere in particular -- so much sound and fury, signifying little.

Juha · 2 years ago

Pirillo's "new wife" (did she arrive via Windows Update or some other upgrade mechanism?) notwithstanding, I really hope this isn't the future. Good grief. It really is too much.

Mathew · 2 years ago

Thanks for the comment, Chris. It certainly will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

Adam and Juha, I feel much the same as you do.

Ryan Sholin · 2 years ago

I think the journalistic possibilities - live streaming with a webcam and an EVDO card - are far more interesting than the "watch me scratch my nose" applications.

Toss a tablet PC and a webcam that plays well with a service like ustream into three or four reporters' backpacks, and suddenly you have a live feed playing on your site when news breaks.

Mathew · 2 years ago

I agree, Ryan.

Chris Yeh · 2 years ago

One interesting development at Ustream is that last week I spent some time on the phone with someone from a well-known NGO. They plan to use Ustream to broadcast live from within their public protests. It's this kind of immediacy and first-person POV that I think will provide a shot in the arm for television journalism.

I also agree with some of the other commentors, who worry about information overload. One thing that Ustream will have to work on is some kind of real-time discovery and filtering mechanism. The "traditional" methods of Digg, del.icio.us, et al, will not suffice for live video.

briansolis · 2 years ago

[...]Is this too much, as asked by Matthew Ingram and further discussed by Scoble? [...]

SFGary · 2 years ago

As the Monty Python guys would say, " this is entirely too silly."

I was hoping the justin tv thing would die out after the obligatory 15 minutes of idiocy but it seems more people are getting on the bandwagon.

Chris Yeh · 2 years ago

Mathew,

Do you know the Huffington Post folks? Would love an intro!

--Chris Yeh (Ustream investor)

Mathew · 2 years ago

Chris: Why don't you ping me offline.

Bastian · 2 years ago

Hey if you go to www.mystreams.tv your viewers can stream too and it's instant streaming!