The phenomenon of people being able to record and upload their own videos online was made wildly popular with YouTube, as we all know. Year after year, YouTube provides us with new videos that we “must see”, uploaded sometimes by regular people, and lately by companies who are realizing more and more of the potential a viral explosion from YouTube can give. This is a good sign, but the video tool is just getting started and I wanted to talk about two sites which are taking the game to a new level. Those sites are UStream and Justin TV.

What these sites are doing is letting their users stream live their own channels of video. Think about this for a second, consider the implications of letting any person with a web cam and a microphone to broadcast on video whatever they consider interesting, funny, intelligent, etc. The game goes so much deeper than podcasting. With video the possibilities are endless. Some people use it to show themselves playing their favorite videogame, while others put on their own show, with guests and all kinds of TV stuff. People tune in to watch them, just as they used to tune in to watch the news or a random entertainment show years ago. Don’t minimize these sites, these people show really impressive content, and that’s why live, individual, regular, online broadcasting can’t be ignored any longer. And why your company should start considering its business potentiality.

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