Mass Interactive: Justin.tv Redux

Justin.tv launched 14 days and 10 odd hours ago. That’s when Justin strapped a camera to his head and started live feeding his life—24/7. And, according to the site, he has no intention of taking the camera off.

The curious voyeur who watches Real World can get the same kick out of Justin.tv, that’s nothing new. But the fascinating part is how Justin interacts with his viewers. He answers emails, text messages, IMs. He used to take phone calls until he got too overwhelmed—people want to interact with Justin.

He is giving up a lot of control over his life to his viewers; basically, people can change Justin’s world as he’s living in it. A prankster called in an order for $63 in pizza to be delivered to Justin. And when he got kicked out of the Gap for refusing to take his camera off, people watching Justin.tv called the store to tell the employees to tell them how lame that was. And when Justin’s trying to sleep, fans on the site try to convince his roommates to wake him up—earlier this week, they poured water on him to satisfy the live chat peer pressure.

It's like Sims meets Truman Show, which is a cool novelty, but these guys are trying to make money. They are loading up with product placements and eventually want to get enough demand to get their own network. I’d say the intrigue will wear off, and that Justin.tv will be a flash in the pan. But spend some time watching him yourself and tell me if you disagree.

via SF Chronicle