Yahoo Live = Speed Dating + isolation chambers + lurkers + kids + freak/geeks

Yahoo Live.  I'll admit - I'm conceptually smitten.

Sure, the live video/streamed video/shared video social video paradigm has been around for a while.  The news with Yahoo Live is that an industry big boy has effectively validated the space by entering it - though they are clearly still overcoming some pretty irritating technical hurdles.  Says Marshall Kirkpatrick, blogger and consultant to the stars:  "If I were one of the existing video sharing/creation sites, I'd get out there quick with a clearly articulated value proposition."  Why? Yahoo is going to eat your lunch.

I know Yahoo's flogging this thing.  I know there are other video clients out there.  But wow.  I just went to check this thing out for few minutes and got stuck for three four five hours so far.

Sure there's a delay.  Sure it chunks up.  Sure my mike has crapped out is apparently live again.  Sure you have to keep typing because the sound may or may not be working and then you get loud mike reverb.  But there is something really compelling about it.  Something very human.
  
Some quick observations:

• Folks look LAME while silently watching other folks.  Guys in particular seem to always rest their head on a hand.  or two.  You know what?  if you can't hold up your head without your hands, GO OUTSIDE AND EXERCISE. Then come back in and watch some gal taking singing requests before gamely butchering the national anthem (yep, saw that).  And before you come back?  put on a shirt.  and pants.  and wash your face.
• Please have something to say.  a live channel gets old quick, even if you are cute - trust me, I checked out a few of them (and on other networks).  To the extent apps like this remind folks you need to organize your thoughts before you open your mouth, awesome.  To the extent it's just a million million people talking about their cats while crazed Norwegians text chat contemptuously over their streaming faces (yep, saw that too) it doesn't bode well. 
• Fluid watchers - or maybe thats fickle.  or maybe they are craving a jolt.  folks dip in and out of channels quick.  I saw one guy in five separate channels.  and they are merciless - the guy doing the live rap show had a bad patch and you could hear and see the viewers drop out of his channel going to look for...
• cute girls - believe it or not, they still draw.  Silent legions of viewers.  one Romanian gal, I swear, she was a thirteen or fourteen year old [tops!] and brushed her hair for over 130 viewers.  Before you send your kid to their room, confiscate the webcam or they may pole dance for a silent horde.  Not really.  but sort of.  I think you get it.
• Ambient creepy - few viewers in each channel actually enabled their cams, fewer still audio.  You perform.  they listen.  and watch.  and not all of them are dressed.
  
• Empty Channels: a yahoo live channel can be like a party no-one comes to.  and you sit alone in your channel, waiting for folks to come in.  bizarre.  Expect the rise of the video community host.
• Distributed performance - I saw three separate folks streaming (not very good) performances, a live rap show with a call in, and a dude explaining why the yahoo services keep crashing.  Look for political channels to start up REAL QUICK.

If I'm selling video conferencing services, I'm worried.

Jeremiah Owyang pull together a great list of other live video/streamed video websites worthy of note:

• StickAm - Express yourself live
• Ustream - Live interactive video for everyone
• kyte: TVstart your own broadcast network!
• Mogulus Live Broadcast!
• Veodia  live TV studio in your browser
• Operator 11 Grab your cam and join any show that’s netcasting
• YouCams Instant Social Networking
• MyStreams Lifecasting Now
• HomeCamera Home Monitoring made easy
• Infinite Conferencing Webcast Your Event… Get the Power and Reach of a Radio or Television Broadcast at a fraction of the cost!
• BlogTV Create, Share, and Watch Live Broadcasts
• ComVu “Broadcast video “live” from the palm of your hand”
• Justin TV “A place for live video. That means everything from event streaming to lifecasting.”
• Yahoo Live “Y! Live was dreamed up as a way to make it possible for anyone to create their own live video experience”

Net - this stuff is amazing. 

It forces the question of community - watching is not just a solo consumption event but one in which each player has a distinct and visible personality.   The web social contract is getting more sophisticated.  You can see your viewers.  You can ban or block them.  Anyone (broadcasting or watching) can flag inappropriate content.

As is usually the case, the tools are background noise for the social interaction growing on their platforms.  Two bucks says the porn industry already has been using this, and its only just now spilling out into freeware.  But then what this whole thing needs is a paypal plug in/secure transaction freeware that allows people to micro-charge (or in the porn use case, macro- or recurring charge setups) access to their sites. 

Does this make our lives better?  make us less lonely?  I got to meet some of my blog readers (shout out to a.d.p. in stockholm!) - you tell me.

Bad question - 3:08am, London.

Comments

[ADF]

Yeah Renny, I was quite intrigued by all this too - at first, until I found myself just sitting there, staring at people (and people staring at me) doing well, nothing special really. (because there was nothing to do...) However, I do think there's a lesson from all this disruptiveness; ordinary people can and even more so in years to come, will begin to explore their own creativity and need for individual expression through services like Yahoo Live and others. However, the one thing I see lacking in most services though is the implementation and possibility to actually play around and experiment with various innovative online tools and devices (sound-and videoediting, backgrounds..). Basically an all-in-one product. Also, to be able to cross cultural boundaries by meeting people you would not be able to communicate with because of language differences. One idea that springs to mind would be a translation application of some sort.
Well, it's all in beta and I do like the fact that Yahoo in such an early stage still have made it public and are asking users to comment on its development. To put it short: These are the times for asking the consumer ie. people: 'what do you want?' instead of telling them: 'this is what you need'. Also, on a personal note I hope it will not solely be up to big 'old' new media corporations like Yahoo to push these possibilities forward, but I'd rather see a collaboration or the model adopted and explored by more 'contemporary' companies...