Obviously the webcam thing is nothing new, even though relatively few people still have them. Tonight I came across a new site that is rather interesting. Qik.com allows you to stream live video to the web from your cell phone. But that is just the beginning.
Once you download the software to your phone and create your account, you can immediately start streaming video to Qik.com. The entire setup process took me less than five minutes including creating my account and profile. Video appears on your page at Qik.com and includes a chat feature should you choose to enable it. The video stream also allows you to turn the audio on or off depending on you settings. These setting can be changed on your phone, even while streaming video.
Once you stop streaming, the video is automatically uploaded and saved in your profile so you can view it later. Of course, as with most sites, people can post comments about your video. If you don’t want other seeing the video, you have the option to set it to private. The website interface also provide a permalink and the code to embed the video into your website.
If that isn’t good enough, you can also share it with any of your friends on Facebook or similar sites, or post it directly to your Facebook profile. Another thing I also found interesting is that you are provided code that allows you to create a streaming video channel on your website (or where ever you choose to put it). This way, your streaming video can be broadcast on the site of your choosing.
What about Twitter? Well, there is a setting in your profile that allows you to send an update to Twitter with a notification that you have uploaded a new video. You can also press 55 during or after a video to send it to Twitter if you don’t have automatic settings configured.
The software was unbelievably easy to download and setup. If you want to capture quick videos or stream live, this is a great free way to do it.
I know about qik. I don’t have a video capable phone, nor do I live in an area where we have access speeds capable of streaming. Thats why i said it’s coming.
Oh, so sorry. Keep your chin up. Eventually they will even bring the plumbing indoors.