Livestreaming

Samir Mehta | October 13, 2015
[hidden by request]

Matthew Preston | October 13, 2015
Remember Jennicam from the late 90's? At the time it was revolutionary due to the level of available technology, but now it's something any joker with an iPhone can pull off. There was something innately appealing to a voyeuristic approach at that time, but your right, most streams now would be painfully boring. There needs to be a hook or other interest to catch on. I've taken an interest in watching live streaming console gaming on the PS4, but it's mostly to get a free preview of a game I'm thinking about buying.

Happening in Florida doesn't shock me, but this could happen anywhere.

Scott Hardie | October 13, 2015
From what I know, most of the people who are livestreaming are just using it the same way that YouTubers already do, but live in real time: They vlog about stuff in their life, they hold forth about topics that interest them, they show stuff going on around them that they find amusing. The vast majority only expect their friends to see it.

Many people are also just plain narcissistic and enjoy the thought of being watched or seen. It can make you feel important. Having viewers must provide a similar ego boost to getting likes on a selfie.

Personally, I don't know who has the damn time for livestreaming. It's trouble enough just to make that content, but to keep up with watching even a tiny fraction of it? That must be very time-consuming. But I'm sure that the vast majority of livestreamers are in their teens or early twenties and have time to spare. I would guess that they're also not terribly discerning about the quality of content. Young people often just want to watch other young people on a screen, regardless of what they're doing, hence the appeal of MTV.

Florida is of course prone to all kinds of weirdness and lawlessness, but I think Matthew's right; this incident could have happened anywhere. Here's three cheers for the people who called 911 on her.