There have been a ton of scooter riders out there this summer cutting across the United States in all different directions. So when I got an email from Sean Blake about his ride, I said to my self “so what?” Later, I went to his website, Scooter Quest, I realized that this was something different. Sean and a friend are going to use streaming video to let you see the ride as it is happening and give you a chance to participate while they are on the road. For those of you who don’t have a geek streak in you, this may not be so fascinating, but to me it was exciting. But I should back track a bit.
In podcasting and “new media” there is a lot of interest in building connections, a community of people who have similar interests, like in scooting. One of the emerging tools for doing this is streaming video, a live video platform that allow for conversations not just between two people, but among many from all over the world. Leo Laporte of TWIT is probably one of the most successful techno-buffs who is into this, but there are many more like Chris Pirillo and Robert Scoble.
Sean has wired his Genuine Stella scooter so he can stream video and chat while they do their Scooter Quest ride. In addition, their website will include real-time GPS mapping and video archiving for when they hit spots with no connectivity. I think this is another example of how some people are pushing the media envelope and they are not alone. If you want to see more of this kind of stuff look at the websites for Qik, Ustream, Mogulus and other video and streaming platforms.
On another note, my luggage and passport are laid out on the bed and I am starting to dream about all the places we plan to visit in Italy. I hope to have another podcast up before we leave, but who knows. If the wi-fi gods are good to me on the trip, I will blog and post a show from the road. If not then just look for my tweets on twitter. For what it’s worth, I have been assured by AT&T that my Iphone will work in Italy.
Music for this show is from the Podsafe music network and features Reel Big Fish a band from California and The Subcity Dwellers, a nine member band from Canada.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:19 am
That’s pretty friggin cool. I wish my ride had been live streamed. That would have really been something.
Kinda of surprised at how nice their website is for just 7 days of riding.
Have a great time in Italy.
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:50 am
BEST EPISODE YET!!! Great music, awesome topic about augmenting the vespas, and all that. Keep it up.