Video Streaming Websites

Did you know that anybody can start their own television station?  Well, not really but you can plug a webcam and microphone into your computer and broadcast anytime to anybody on the world wide web! And, the way you do it is through websites such as Ustream, Livestream and Justin.tv.

At any given time you can see everything from Baseball games to 4th of July fireworks displays, or concerts to a guy sitting at a desk eating a pizza in his boxers.  And you could be THAT guy!  By the way, they call that lifecasting.  

In 2008 these kind of websites really came into their own with the Presidential campaigns.

I truly believe this is the future of television because it puts it back into the hands of regular folks like us.  The same way blogs have made every day people into citizen journalists.  It's truly for the people, by the people. 

The next time you can't find anything you want to watch on cable, check out Ustream or others of it's ilk and you might be pleasantly surprised.

My favorite broadcast on ustream to watch is Twit.tv which is a video podcast network mainly devoted to technology related subjects.  What's great about them is that when their shows are done, they keep the cameras rolling and you get to see some awesome behind the scenes stuff that you would never be able to experience from network TV.

If you're thinking about broadcasting your own stream, take a look at each of the services I mentioned and see which one you like then turn the camera on!  You might become addicted to it and turn out to be the next Internet superstar.

Good Luck!