

Newest trend in all the land. Live streaming video content. The end. Without a doubt everyone wants live streaming content these days. Whether its to your phone, laptop, desktop or in my case HTPC(Home Theater PC) its all the rage. You can find live streaming of everything from video podcasts, video chats, musical performances, comedy sketch shows and fully produced shows. This stuff is everywhere.
Most notably two of my favorite singer/song writers who have a good fan base on the net have done live broadcasts of performances. Kina Grannis did her album release party live on the net. Her cd hit iTunes on the morning of Feb 23rd and she had her Live show on Ustream.tv in the evening. She promoted this event just through her Twitter and Facebook page. Giving the link out every few hours leading up to the event. By the time she was live from her living room there were over 800 people viewing the show and her cd had hit as high as #26 in overall album sales, not to mention #7 on the iTunes Pop album sales. The whole thing was a brilliant engaging experience. Imagine this as you check out the photos. The artist is right there talking to all of us. Not just performing songs. She was laughing, telling stories, and just being real. She spent 2 hours just hanging out, reading questions and taking requests from the chatroom, answering phone calls from fans using a service called SayNow. You could watch on your phone/laptop/desktop or even the big screen in your living room like myself. Pretty unreal and something I didn’t even imagine 5 years ago.

You can find more of her at www.KinaGrannis.com as well as all her videos at Youtube and don’t forget to check her out at Twitter where she is extremely active and engaged with her fans.
Another one of my favs who I have blogged about before, Kim DiVine. She was the musical guest on www.AcmeComedy.com Saturday night. This is their Saturday Night Live of sorts. They use www.Ustream.tv as well. It is embedded directly into their site and right on the Ustream.tv site incorporating a chatroom and twitter feed. The crowd here was certainly smaller than Kina’s but video production was definitely the focus here. These guys at www.AcmeComedy.com really did a great job and had quite a bit of production value with at least 3 camera switching with snazzy transitions and green screen effects. It was a typical comedy sketch show and I wasn’t sure how it would translate since I wasn’t actually in the physical room. I was pleasantly surprised at how funny and engaging it was and I really had some great laughs. For me as usual Kim stole the show with her heartfelt lyrics and smooth guitar stylings. She played two songs just like the SNL musical guests. Here is a little montage of Kim on the big screen.

I want to share with you a few things I recently found about live video streaming and a few trusty favorites that have been doing this for awhile. For live streaming video there are basically 4 companies offering the bandwidth. There are actually quite a few others but Ill take about the mainstream sites as I see it. Put simply, you personally can’t afford to feed your own live video to 100s let alone 1000s of viewers. You need a website that specializes in live streaming.
The most versatile and commercial site right now is www.Ustream.tv . These guys cover all the bases and have a near flawless interface allowing you to embed the video directly to your site. Record and archive the full streams. Incorporate chat using a standard chatroom as well as Twitter stream. The site allows HQ video streams that looked pretty darn good even on my tv. This is definitely the leader in the technology right now. Down side is their site alone will not get you viewers. Very few people browse www.Ustream.tv and just randomly come across your show. You need to have a following that you can implore to come to the site and join just to see you.
On the other hand if you just want to broadcast and have random viewers show up to your stream, www.Justin.tv is the place to go. They offer much the same setup as www.Ustream.tv but their site has many more folks just browsing for something interesting to watch. This can really build your views and possibly bring new fans. The main age group here is around 16-30 yr olds.
For the younger folks you definitely want to hit www.Stickam.com . This site is full of 12-20 yr olds which can be a great thing depending on your content. Their software is not quite as good for embedding in your own site etc but their chat experience is often quite engaging. They also allow viewers to interact with their own video webcams as well as standard chatting.
Lastly for a more commercialized and personalized stream you can use something called www.Bitgravity.com . This is a company to stream top quality video. It’s a bit more involved and might entail more computing knowledge, possibly some money and an agreement with the company. Also you will definitely need to have your own following and your own website to embed the stream.
That’s a few of my experiences and the sites that make it all happen. I now want to share with you two of the leaders in utilizing this technology to the fullest. www.TheStream.Tv and Live.Twit.Tv are both optimized for this format. www.TheStream.Tv is a network built on the idea of interactive shows broadcast live on the internet allowing its fans to chat directly with the hosts and guests. They have a live programming 5 days a week 2-5 hrs a day. Their shows are a good mix of comedy celebrity and video games. Not only are they live, they archive all their shows for on-demand viewing and there are over 1000 episodes to choose from. Check them out at www.TheStream.Tv
Live.Twit.Tv is Leo Laporte’s podcast network. Leo is the Tech guy. You might remember him from the 90’s television show called The Screensavers. Basically he has a network of podcasters doing shows running the full gamit of technology related conversation. All the weekly shows can be seen recorded live at Live.Twit.Tv. More information about all the podcast and everything Leo Laporte can be found a www.Twit.Tv
I’m glad I could share this with you. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the peek into my living room as well. You can hit me up at Twitter or if Im live on the broadcasting sites which is highly unlikely
www.Ustream.tv/PokerPro
www.Justin.tv/ThePokerPro
www.Stickam.com/PokerPro
or look at my videos on
www.Youtube.com/CAlex6977
Most of all be sure an check out my sponsored ads below.

Driving back from LA my ipod was on random and this old tune from Kim DiVine's 2004 CD Here and In Between. Ive always enjoyed some of her older tunes but I really sparked an idea in me back when I heard it first and again in the car on wednesday. Im going to list the lyrics and give you some of my thoughts.
Wasted time by Kim DiVine
Just brush your eyes dry and wait
The night will fade into morrow
It will be a better day
A different way and you will say okay
Ill be okay Yeah, Yeahy Yeah yeah
The song starts of simple and keeps a steady pace throughout. Just keeping you in its warm embrace. The begining gives you a taste of where we are headed. Today is not the only thing. Do not hold on so tight. Let today flow and embrace the next experience.
And I hear your tears crying in tune
I feel your fears pickin at you but without those pains to live
You wouldn’t, you wouldn’t be here
But I know you'd die inside if you had the choice
But instead you just, you just
With the experiences and struggles you have you just cant see the beauty of life. The contrast is there to wake you up, to make you see. But instead we all ignore whats been shown so clear. Wish it all would end, want to run and hide.
You stare at the clock but it gives you nothing but wasted time
You search to find your meaning, but its nothing you’ll find
No in this moment it will pass
Let out the air and breathe again
The first chorus gives it to you straight. How often do you find yourself looking at a clock. Counting the minutes of your life. Looking for then next thing while grasping tightly to the pain of experiences you are in but wish would pass. Struggling to find that something with meaning to fill the emptiness. Its right there, that contrast Look away and breathe deep. The first of numerous times you are told to BREATHE throughout the song.
You know the dreams inside of you
And they’re bitin on your strength
Damn all the crap that creeps to misguide you
Cause you know its only you
Its only you that can save you
So stop lookin out and look in
The beatiful dreams, thoughts, and ideas within you. They contrast much of what you see in reality. Society and media misdirect your focus to believe the answer is in the next big thing. Really the answer is you. Right there inside your mind. Stop searching for meaning and create it.
You stare at the clock but it gives you nothing but wasted time
You search to find your meaning, but its nothing you’ll find
No in this moment it will pass
Let out the air and breathe again
Let out the air and breathe again
Its easy, just like the yoga masters tell you. Be in the moment. You cannot find what you are searching for. Be in the moment. Focus your breath. Feel it in and out. Know the answers are in you.
Whoa all you have to do is let out the air and breathe again
All you have to do is take it all in and breathe again
Breathe again but I know youd die inside if you had the choice
Stare at the clock but it gives you nothing but wasted time
Search to find your meaning, but its nothing you’ll find
No in this moment it will pass
Let out the air and breathe again
Let out the air and breathe again
Let out the air and breathe again
Just brush your eyes dry and wave
The night will fade into morrow
It will change.