May 2007 Archive
Lifecasting and why Radar hits the sweet spot
“Lifecasting,” or broadcasting your life via the internet, has recently become popularized by sites such as Justin.tv, Twitter and Radar [Disclosure: I work for Tiny Pictures which makes Radar]. The concept sounds interesting, but for many, lifecasting has been a disappointment. For example, here’s OK/Cancel’s Kevin Cheng on why Justin.tv is so boring:
Very few people’s lives are interesting enough to broadcast all day and all night, down to brushing their teeth and picking their nose. Even people who have led lives interesting enough to warrant autobiographies are jotting down the highlights and lowlights, not every minute occasion.
This is especially true for Justin.tv because his life is no where near autobiography material and he’s still broadcasting every blinking second. As Kevin states earlier, the editing room exists for a reason.
Radar has also been called lifecasting, but it won’t ever take an editor to make Radar interesting. Why? Unlike most other social networks, Radar was explicitly intended to be private. That means you’re only sharing with your close friends and family that you invite. While YouTube, Twitter, and Kyte are broadcasting to the world, Radar has two things that they usually miss: privacy and context.
It may take an editor to make video lifecasting interesting. But making Radar interesting only takes a good friend that captures fun, beautiful or unusual moments on their cameraphone. No editor required.
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