Facebook Goes Live, Partners with Ustream on Live Video Social Streaming

In yet another integration of online video and social media platforms, the social networking giant Facebook has just announced that they are offering live streaming on Facebook pages through a partnership with Ustream, the leading live streaming platform. The new Facebook social widget called the Live Stream Box was first demonstrated during some recent Jonas Brothers concerts but was officially released this past week in both a free ad supported version or a premium white label version version powered by Ustream's Watershed available for $15,000 primarily geared toward artists and brands that can pay the "one-time development fee" and a subscription to Watershed's monthly $879 plan. See the Ustream on Facebook FAQs for more information.

With the merging of functionality between social network platforms Facebook is starting to look a lot like Twitter or Friendfeed incorporating real-time status updates and shared links, photos and videos. While real-time chat is a common feature in live streaming applications, it's though the size of the Facebook community that makes the Facebook/Ustream partnership significant. The 2009 US Presidential Inauguration was a seminal online event and important moment for Facebook Platform marking the beginning of a new era in social streaming. Working with CNN Facebook tested a new feature that let people share Facebook status updates and comments side by side with real-time streaming video on CNN's website garnering over a million status updates in two hours.

On the Facebook Developers blog Tom Whitnah explained, "We realized how powerful it was to see what your friends were saying, not just on Facebook, but right in context on CNN.com. Users posted over a million status updates during that two hour event. Since then, we have worked with several established websites and entrepreneurs to show real-time updates next to live broadcasts, including the NBA® All-Star Game and many of the sites covering the Oscars®, and we've seen many other sites integrate similar features themselves such as Nana10 in Israel which hosted live broadcasts and their own live conversations using Facebook Connect during the Israeli elections earlier this year."

The Jonas Brothers event also had huge numbers according to Ustream:

• 1.5 million unique posts were made via Facebook Live Feed
  
• 23K average posts per minute
  
• More than 100K users joined the webcast after seeing their friend’s comment on Facebook
  
• 974K total unique viewers watched the one hour webcast
  
• Ustream reported the Jonas Brothers webcast on Facebook surpassed the largest live video event they have hosted for any music artist
  
• Over 40,000 tweets were sent out about the event during the one hour webcast

The widget lets users who visit your Facebook site or application share activity and comments in real-time. Powered by Ustream, it works best when you are running a real-time event, like live streaming video for concerts, speeches, or webcasts, live Web chats, webinars, mass-multiplayer games, TV show or any video broadcast. The Live Stream Box is scalable, and according to Whitnah, it can handle millions of simultaneous viewers updating in real-time. He also said it's easy to install and takes just a minute to set up.

You can include a Live Stream Box anywhere on the Web, or within your Facebook Page, or a Facebook application. See the full instructions on the Facebook Developers Live Stream Box wiki page that walks you through the set up and adding Live Stream Box to your site or IFrame application.

In case you hadn't noticed, we're in the era of live social streaming and while the price tag is steep for a white-label version on the Live Stream Box it's clearly targeted at artists and brands like the Jonas Brothers who as Nicholas Carlson notes, "putting three dudes on a couch in front of a laptop doesn't cost a lot. Neither Facebook nor Ustream, which provided the video tech, sold any ads against the show, but there is good reason to expect they'll slap a pre-roll on the next Jonas chat."

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Facebook

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Ustream

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Related:

• USTREAM, You're On. Free LIVE VIDEO Streaming, Online Broadcasts. Create webcasts, video chat, stream videos on the Internet. Live streaming videos, TV shows
• The Ustream.TV Blog » Blog Archive » “Ustream on Facebook” Expands Live Video to Social Networks
• Facebook Developers | Facebook Developers NewsLive Stream Box - Facebook Developer Wiki
• The Future Of Media: Facebook, Ustream, The Jonas Brothers And 974,000 Tweens

Updated links and text: 6/28/09

Ustream Viewing Application Now Available in the Apple App Store, Works Only on Wi-Fi

Ustream delivered on their word that they would have their new live mobile streaming application ready for viewing the inauguration. Their new iPhone Viewing Application is now available in the Apple App Store.

The one drawback is that the viewer currently only works only with Wi-Fi, which is contrary to their claim that your can watch Ustream anywhere "regardless of where you are at and what you are doing, you can choose to be in the moment with others in a shared live experience around a live event. If you are out-on-the-town and know that a guest speaker at a major conference is “going live” and want to watch live and be-in-the-crowd."

According to John Ham, Ustream Founder, "The Ustream iPhone Viewing Application was pending approval from Apple and was approved in time for the inauguration. Now any iPhone owner can watch the inauguration from their iPhone. Presently, the Ustream iPhone Viewing Application is WiFi only to ensure the highest quality broadcast on the iPhone, but stay tuned for developments."

They may have scaled back the application to Wi-fi only to comply with ATT's terms of service and keep the live video traffic off of the ATT 3G network. But doesn't anywhere mean anywhere? Even the graphic I used in this post from the Ustream blog says "anywhere" and not "anywhere there is Wi-fi." So technically this application allows you to view live and on-demand Ustream content similar to Joost's iPhone app.

I haven't tested the Ustream app myself, but I've read several reviews which have been favorable. Here's a few posts from people who have tested the app:

• Just in time for the Obama inauguration, Ustream’s iPhone app launches » VentureBeat
• Ustream iPhone app makes App Store in time for inaugural address | Feeds | ZDNet.com
• Ustream’s Live Viewing App Hits the App Store » Apple Universe Podcast
• Ustream viewer makes it to app store just in time - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Gallery: Ustream Screen shots

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• Ustream Live Video Viewer iPhone Application on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The application can be downloaded at this iTunes link:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=301520250&mt=8

Ustream.tv on Non-Jailbroken iPhone! Ustream Gears Up to Stream Obama Inauguration on Soon-to-be Released iPhone App

Ustream has been working on an iPhone application to enable viewing of live streaming content from Ustream.tv to the 3G iPhone. MobileCrunch posted a video and a photo of the app last month and now the application is almost ready for prime time. Ustream worked closely with President-elect Obama throughout his campaign, and yesterday John Ham, Ustream Founder announced that with the new app you will be able to watch the historic Inauguration LIVE on Ustream with chat.

As Michael Arrington of Techcrunch says, "The world is changing before our eyes" since this would be the the first live streaming application available in the iPhone App store if and when it's approved by Apple. He had an exclusive demonstration of the soon-to-be released application by Ustream's John Ham featured in the video below.

If you’d like to try out the application before it officially launches, Techcrunch has a handful of invitations to give away. Just follow the directions below.

Instructions for preview:

1) Plug the iPhone into your computer
2) Wait for the iPhone info to appear in iTunes
3) click on the words “Serial Number” to cause it to change to “Identifier”
4) double-click the identifier number (the long string of characters) and then press cmd-C (Mac) or ctrl-C (Windows) to copy it
5) email that identifier to iphone@ustream.tv so we can build a custom version for that phone using the iPhone SDK.

Chris Pirillo who also uses Ustream for his daily live streams recorded this demo. He says,"I’m relatively pissed that TechCrunch got an exclusive scoop (and yes, it was exclusive) on the upcoming Ustream application for the iPhone, all things considered. Still, I’m happy to say that pretty soon you’ll be able to watch me - and any other person who uses Ustream - on your iPhone or iPod Touch. The app is very much real. Why would you want to watch? Think about it this way: it’s much more interactive than traditional television."


Watch Me Live on Your iPhone
Description: http://live.pirillo.com/ - Now you can watch me, and other live video feeds, no matter where you go! So long as you have a connection to the Internet, you can pull up our feed and participate vicariously with the community.


While Joost has an iPhone app that lets you watch their library of 46,000 videos it is limited to wi-fi network access and Ustream's application let you watch live stream anywhere is also limited to wi-fi. (See updated post)

Arrington followed up with this additional post, Ustream May Be First To Broadcast Video From Unhacked iPhone, which featured another demonstration of different Ustream application that lets users record and produce live mobile broadcasts from an iPhone. This is the first live streaming application to run on a non-jailbroken iPhone and is pending approval by Apple. Ustream is anticipating it will be approved and available in the iPhone app store soon. Both Qik and Flixwagon already have iPhone live streaming applications for jailbroken iPhones.

YouTube to Team Up with Ustream for Live Streaming Event and May or May Not Announce Its Own Live Service

The YouTube Live web cast is scheduled on November 22 and Silicon Alley Insider says there's been speculation that they will announce their own web casting service similar to Ustream, Stickam, Justin.tv, and Mogulus at the event. Nicholas Carson spoke to a YouTube company source who has seen mock ups of the user interface and said, "Of course something could go wrong and they might not launch it," and a YouTube spokesperson contradicted the claim saying, "We're working with a third party to live-stream our event called Live. We have no product to announce at this time."



YouTube Live - 11/22/08
From: Live
Description: YouTube Live! is, first and foremost, a celebration of the site's vast user communities; everyone from bedroom vloggers to world-famous rock stars, musicians, comedians, athletes, artists and more. Part concert, part variety show and part party, the event will bring to life many of the amazing videos and talent that YouTube viewers have already made popular on the site. The two-hour event will take place on November 22, 2008, in front of a live audience in San Francisco; an audience of millions will be able to experience a simultaneous live stream on the site."


MG Siegler says that VentureBeat has confirmed through an anonymous tipster that the third party is Ustream and he noted, "More interesting is the rumor that YouTube could use the event to launch a live-streaming service of its own. If that is true, it seems unlikely that YouTube would go to all the trouble of partnering with Ustream for the event if it’s just going to launch a product that directly competes Ustream at the event."

Siegler also thought that perhaps YouTube might announce a formal partnership with Ustream to handle the live streaming on YouTube. This may give some credence to what Steve Chen told Sarah Austin earlier in the year that YouTube was interested in getting into live streaming and that they hoped to launch something this year. However, in August of this year Michael Learmonth wrote in Silicon Alley Insider that a source from Google stated that if just 10% of YouTubers took advantage of live streaming it would significantly increase their bandwidth costs upwards of 20% to 25%. That's because live streaming clips tend to be much longer lasting several hours and include chat data.

Learmonth concluded that it didn't seem likely that YouTube would launch a live streaming service and said, "At some point, if one or more of the live streaming services truly takes off, Google will be faced with a build vs. buy decision, but that won't happen for at least another year or two. Getting in early here doesn't seem to be a huge advantage: Yahoo launched a service in February, but its most popular lifecasters frequently have an audience of less than 100 people."

While live streaming service Mogulus has been successful partnering with Gannett it's interesting to note that Yahoo just announced it would be discontinuing its live streaming service Yahoo Live! on December 3rd.

So with the YouTube Live event only 2 weeks away it will be interesting to see how this plays out and what else YouTube has planned. They are already distributing full-length TV shows like Star Trek, MacGyver and Beverly Hills 90120 in their new Theater View style and also featured the World Premiere of filmmaker Wayne Wang's "The Princess Of Nebraska" in the YouTube Screening Room.

According to CNET they've also announced that they will be offering features films from at least one major Hollywood studio as early as next month. Greg Sandoval said that a showdown between YouTube and Hulu was inevitable.

Update: Soon after I posted this news had spread that The New York Times confirmed that MGM is the will partner with YouTube to deliver full-length films.

Related:

• YouTube - Live's Channel
• Source: Google teaming with Ustream for YouTube Live event — long-term partnership to follow? » VentureBeat
• YouTube's Live! Party Is A Launch Event
• YouTube Not Getting Into Live Streaming, After All (GOOG)
• YouTube Live not just an event after all, but a live-streaming service? » VentureBeat
• YouTube - Screening Room
• Feature films coming to YouTube | Latest Digital Media News - CNET News
• Lights, camera, YouTube: Feature films coming to the world’s video portal? » VentureBeat
• Video: YouTube to get live video this year » VentureBeat
• Steve Chen: YouTube to Add Live Video « NewTeeVee
• MGM to Post Full Movies and TV Shows to YouTube - NYTimes.com

President-Elect Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech on UStream

The internet was on fire this evening as Barack Obama won the election to be the 44th President of the United States of America. His acceptance speech was streamed live on his UStream.tv channel and is embedded below.



Brad Hunstable, Founder had this to say on the Ustream.tv blog,"Tonight I sat back and watched with amazement one of our nation’s most sacred principles unfold live on Ustream. Over a million people followed the election on Ustream today- from small election parties, to passionate professional broadcasts.

Whether you agree or not, are red or blue, Democrat or Republican, history was made today and many experienced this through our humble service. Over the last 2 years, John, Gyula and I have had the opportunity to meet many people and see many things because of Ustream, but tonight, for me, was the most powerful."

GigaOM Show: Seesmic's Loic Le Meur, and Why Video is Changing the World

Joyce Kim and Liz Gannes interviewed web entrepreneur and video blogger Loic Le Meur on the latest Giga Om show, Episode 34 - Forget Twitter: Seesmic.com creates online video conversations. The episode description says, "Unlike most online video sites that rely on a video upload model, Seesmic provides an online built-in user interface that enables participates to record their personal video note directly to Seesmic's servers. This could be the future of conversation over the web."



Sessmic has been described as the Twitter of video however Le Meur calls Seesmic a video conversation software and incorporated that into the tag line "Join the Video Conversation." Jose Castillo thinks Seesmic is another example of why video is changing the world and he recently expanded a short post on his blog into a full article on Streamingmedia.com. Castillo described how he tapped into a community conversation started by a deaf Seesmic user Louis Ricciardi writing that, "I was reminded why video is so important and why it is changing the world … it’s all about people communicating."



Liz Gaines said on NewTeeVee, "Seesmic is a video startup I’ve shied away from writing about too often, because I’m not sure I really get it. But I figure if so many smart people think there’s something good going on here, I should keep an eye on what the company is doing."

Loic responded on his blog, "Ah and Liz says she does not really get Seesmic, even after having me on the show, I must really not be clear enough, let me know if I can explain more."

Allan Stern from CenterNetworks wrote a post about Seemic last month titled, Taking a Look at Seesmic and Why It Won't Work Despite Those Behind It. He compared some of the many video tools and distribution services like YouTube, Flixwagon/Qik, Ustream, SeeToo/ooVoo and concluded that, "It's taken me a while to figure out what Seesmic is but I've come to the realization that it's a video message board... If Loic can figure out how to make the "video conversation" real-time and step away from being a message board, then it has a much better chance of succeeding. But there are plenty of services that do that already."

Jose Castillo put things in perspective regarding Seesmic by saying, "We all are guilty of focusing too much on the tools we use every day. Blinded by the coolness of our latest application or service, we sometimes forget that connecting human beings is at the core of online media."

Related:

• Seesmic blog
• Loic's videos
  
• Loic's blog
• Seesmic vs. Video Blog Comments Could Launch Real Innovation - March 23, 2008 from CenterNetworks by Allen Stern

YouTube to Stream Live Video in 2008? Co-founder Steve Chen Says Yes!

As part of the third episode of her new show Pop17, video blogger and producer Sarah Meyers scooped the YouTube live video streaming story when she caught up with co-founder Steve Chen at a recent YouTube party in NYC. In describing the episode, Lifecasting and Lifecasters, Meyers writes that, "A variety of live streaming platforms with social networks are propping up a new kind of online voice." Lifecasting pioneer Justin Kan along with iJustine, Chris Pirillo and Sarah Meyers herself represent a few of the many online voices. She lists "several common live streaming platforms: Mogulus, Justin.TV, Ustream, Blog.tv, Stickam, Yahoo Live, Qik." According to Chen, YouTube has been wanting to do live video and may enter that arena sometime later this year.



Related (courtesy of TechTicker.net):

• “YouTube Launching Live Video This Year, Chen Confirms“, ReadWriteWeb, 28 February 2008
• “Yahoo! Live and Ustream.TV", Tech Ticker, 29 February 2008
• “Confirmed: Live Video On YouTube This Year", TechCrunch, 29 February 2008

• “The Daily Poll: Live Video – Who Will Win?", Mashable, 29 February 2008
• “YouTube Will Win Live Video?", Mashable, 29 February 2008

Update: (Two more live streaming platforms worth checking out)

• Livevideo.com - The World is Watching
  
• Netineo - The Live Network
  

Yahoo Launches Live! A New Live Streaming Service... Well, Sort of

In the midst of an impending takeover by Microsoft, Yahoo launched a new "experimental" live streaming service, called Yahoo! Live, which has already seems to have reached capacity on its first outing.

Both ReadWriteweb and TechCrunch reviewed the new site describing its functionality and Michael Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteweb, who tried to cover the launch live wrote, "It looks pretty good though early tests are experiencing scaling issues already. Apparently, the company that gets more web traffic than anyone on earth is incapable so far of handling 400 people watching 30 live video streams. Actually, a flood of early adopters just came in via Twitter and the thing promptly broke - completely as far as I can tell. The service combines many of the best practices developed by early explorers of the medium, tiny startups that must be very worried tonight. Part BlogTV, part Mogulus and just plain better than UStream"



















On the Yahoo! Live blog, Michael Quoc, Director of Advanced Products, describes the service as, "a new experiment in live video from the Advanced Products team at Yahoo!. Y! Live was dreamed up as a way to make it possible for anyone to create their own live video experience. Broadcast the concert you’re at. Webcast your own live DJ set. Lifecast. Build your own live video speed dating application. We’ve created a website and an API that lets you do all these things and many more."

Quoc continued that, "Keep in mind that Y! Live is an experimental release.... Y! Live is a limited capacity release, so bear with us as and we may reach our limits in periods of high traffic. Our top priority now is to hear your feedback – send your comments to ylive@yahoogroups.com, and follow our twitter feed to hear about headline broadcasts and notable things happening live."

Regarding it's experimental state, Chad Dickerson, Sr. Director of Yahoo's Advanced Product Team, commented on TechCrunch that, "Needless to say, we’re aware of and not surprised by the stability issues (ironically, someone sent me a message via Twitter about the servers getting pounded and Twitter timed out just before it delivered the message! C’est la vie.) This is an experiment (see our post on Yahoo! Next for more about the product and API — http://next.yahoo.net/archives.....s-watching ).

As it joins the ranks of it's live streaming competitors (Stickam, Justin.tv, Ustream, Mogulus and Blogtv) it will be interesting to see how Y! Live evolves and becomes more stable over time. Given that you gotta wonder what Google may have up it's sleeve.

UPDATE:
Sorry Y! Live but here's another TechCrunch review on the the launch, Yahoo Live Fails to Scale

VentureBeat - 14 Ways to Broadcast Yourself… Live

This recent article on VentureBeat is a great round up of current live video streaming and lifecasting services by David Adewumi on:

14 ways to broadcast yourself…live

In this excerpt, he writes, "Live TV is just starting to take off, and below I present a select list of competitors, and why I love ‘em, hate ‘em and sometimes both. I prefer Kyte and Mogulus for being able to create and broadcast an innovative show, while UStream.TV has aligned with big-name personalities like The Plain White T’s that are fun to take a look at. In the Mobile sphere, Qik seems to be the dominant force, allowing users to stream mobile to internet with only a 5-second delay, but FlixWagon will be hot on its tails when it releases a public alpha in January."

Others on the list include AT&T, blog.tv, Comvu, flixwagon, loobs, Justin.tv, operator11, seesmic and Stickam.

Dan Taylor posted a similar round up on his Fabric of Folly blog in August 2007 with many of the same companies at:

Round-up of DIY live video streaming services

Dan's list also included Veodia, YouCams, and MyStreams.tv.