The Real Deal: Next Episode - Lifecasting - Got Questions? Answers?

Radical Transparency?

In reply to: Next Episode - Lifecasting - Got Questions? Answers? by acedtect 

Well, there have been arguments that one defense against things like identity theft is seizing and owning in full your identity online. Things like social networks with friends and testimonials, blogs, Flickr accounts, and now perhaps lifecasting can, in aggregate, establish a definitive and credible identity that'd be pretty hard to hijack.

I'm experimenting with lifecasting (hawaiigeek.tv), mashing it up with GPS mapping, at that. No way in heck would I go 24/7, but as an event-based medium, I think it has legs. I've gone for walks at the beach, attended music and cultural festivals, attended tech lectures and hung out with friends at a coffee shop, all streamed live online.

It has its fun side, and some pretty interesting possibilities. Live and unfiltered coverage of news events? Imagine assigning someone to shadow a political candidate on the campaign trail. Easy broadcasting of conferences and speeches? Now you can get the word out and be heard for $700, instead of five-figures' worth of equipment and personnel. And reality TV is immensely popular, despite being insufferably artificial and contrived. I'm certain there are some real people whose lives, unedited and lifestreamed, would make compelling viewing (and offer great advertising opportunities -- imagine the product placement options!).

There are definitely inherent conflicts (privacy of those inadvertently captured on camera, licensing and copyright of mass media from radio to TV to movies) and grey areas (stalking, immersive pornography) that will no doubt keep an army of lawyers employed for the next decade. But overall, I think the potential good outweighs the likely tangle of problems.