Two startups are trying to disrupt the traditional television model. One of them, Aereo, has been taken to court by the incumbent networks. The other, Skitter has made deals with the content providers they’re rebroadcasting. Here’s a look at both in the latest Tech Tonic.
From Occupy Wall Street in its various locations around the world, to Tahrir Square in Egypt and now to Syria, where few reporters are able to enter, livestreams from citizen journalists increasingly are becoming the only window into what’s actually happening at any given moment during some of the biggest news events.
At the outset of the revolution in Egypt, a streaming video service called Bambuser allowed live video to be streamed directly from Tahrir Square. Ramy Raoof, human rights activist and editor for Egyptian Blog for Human Rights, regularly provided live video using nothing but his Nokia E90 camera phone.
This video, documenting a protest of the death and torture of Khaled Said, netted nearly 4,000 live viewers. The archive has been watched nearly 16,000 times.
Excitement around the meteoric rise of Pinterest may come at a cost to those jumping on the social media site. Its terms of service say it can distribute, license and sell any content you put on their site. What?! That’s right. And it is creating an uproar in the online world with many people wondering – can Pinterest really do this? I get to the bottom of this legalese with the help of tech, media and business lawyer and consultant, Ash Kalb.
Can Facebook live up to the hype? I uncover three problems standing in the way of Facebook’s future growth.
Silicon Alley in New York City has experienced a boom even as economic worries persist. I head into the heart of Silicon Alley to unearth the secrets to success of three of the hottest young tech companies.
If you were to stop independent journalist Tim Pool on the street, you may think he’s just a bike messenger, with his skull cap, hoodie and shoulder strap bag. What you may miss is that Pool has transformed himself into a mobile journalist. He broadcast live videos in the midst of the Occupy movement using just an iPhone, a solar powered backpack and even a drone to an audience of thousands.
I take on the explosive issue of internet privacy, showing how Google and other sites track your movements on the web and how you can stop them.
Watch out Facebook. One of the fastest growing social network’s online right now is newcomer, Pinterest. Pinterest is exploding in popularity. A skeptic at first, I show how Pinterest works, how small businesses can take advantage of it and if its success can be sustained.
Will a change in leadership at Research In Motion help change the prospects of this floundering company? The prospects do not appear good. Here’s my video report on location from Davos, Switzerland.
BuzzFeed has been getting a lot of attention lately, for their high profile hire of well respected political reporter Ben Smith, from Politico and for a recent influx of $15.5 million in new investment. I headed to BuzzFeed headquarters downtown here in Soho to find out what they’re planning to do with the money and how they’re going to differentiate themselves from sites like the Huffington Post.
Interview with founder and CEO Jonah Peretti and politics editor-in-chief Ben Smith
Interview with political reporter and video researching wunderkind Andrew Kaczynski
