Justin.tv on NPR (includes link to audio) | Hacker News Reader

Justin.tv on NPR (includes link to audio)

npr.org

14 pointsvegashacker17 comments

'... It's not as if it's a new idea. Remember the 1999 movie EDtv ...'

Lets go way back to wearcomp [0] with steve mann [1] and cyberman [2] before we get all misty eyed. I'd really like to see something more than just a camera. Mann has gone a step beyond mere transmission with augmentation. Better still go look what students & mann are looking at now. [3] The tech details are here. [4]

Q. Does jtv have the ability for users to communicate? Or is it unicast?

Reference

[0] Wearcomp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann#Mann_as_Cyborg

[1] Steve Mann 'quick bio'

http://wearcam.org/bio.htm

[2] Steve Mann, Cyberman, film, 'Steve Mann is the world's first real cyborg, 2001, 87min'

http://wearcam.org/cyberman.htm

[3] eyetap.org, Seeing Eye People, 'Research on remote guidance for visually impaired'

http://eyetap.org/tpw/index.php

[4] eyetap.org, 'hardware list for eyetap users ~ /proc/wearcomp_hardware'

http://eyetap.org/tpw/wearcomp6.htm

Have to add in this page which shows hundreds of users http://glogger.eyetap.org/viewall.php

Justin clearly proves you don't need an original idea to get buzz, sponsors, and funding. Execution and timing can take you far.

'... Justin clearly proves you don't need an original idea to get buzz, sponsors, and funding ...'

Very true. I think the commercial worlds just seen a glimpse of Stephensons gargoyles [0] and blinked at the possibilities.

Reference

[0] Neil Stephenson, 'Snow Crash contained Gargoyles that where constantly wired for sound, images and other sensors selling the information to the highest bidder.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash

$50k in funding from YC (or maybe just from PG)? That's impressive. Over twice the typical amount.

What kind of valuation are we talking, here?

It was a one-off deal. This startup wasn't in one of the regular YC batches, though their original one (Kiko) was.

Fair enough. Is this the first startup to get that sort of treatment?

I believe there have been a couple of others. This is probably the reason the application no longer requires an idea: YC figures if you're talented/persistent enough, you'll eventually hit on something good.

There was one other one where we invested as angels in the series A round. Ordinarily we wouldn't invest that late, but these guys seemed exceptionally smart and driven.

Deleted comment

Can anyone explain what is exactly so great about this idea?

It's the 90's all over again...

I hate the censoring of comments on reddit & news.yc. It seems contrary to the entrepreneurial mindset.

If Steve Jobs got on a board like this in the '70s, and announced that he was going to start a company building PCs when mainframes were sexy, he probably would've been downvoted too.

Ok, I might've over reacted there. I should've said I LOVE everything about News.YC except the censoring of down-voted comments :)

Regardless, it looks like other comments w/ negative karma are grayed out (like http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=13764 ). So I imagine this comment was probably deleted by the author...

And how much are you taking from them for this contribution?

I was a bit shocked to hear about Justin (yet another media outlet) on NPR - this is truly becoming a global phenomenon. The value of the PR they've received to date is unbelievable - I'm interested to see how they convert all this fame into a business model, which I'm sure they'll be able to do. Nice job believing in their radical idea PG.

I don't know how "radical" the idea is. Justin.tv is "Web 2.0" for Jennicam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JenniCam).

Justin.tv is not Jennicam. Justin.tv is a business and has a business plan that can be executed. Think reality TV... think internet television.

50K is a small investment to make for a company that you believe will hit the big time. I guess YC will get more equity.

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