Needless to say the internet has made a revolution in the ways people in a modern society communicate, collaborate and express their needs, wants and desires. The speed of new technology brought to market seems to be quicker than most can keep up with. Even for the die hard there is only so many social networking sites and posts in their online journals that they can make in the normal day. This does not seem to be a deterrence though.

Blogging is now a front line rival to commercial journalism. Everyone seems to have a blog of some type these days. Maybe just a blurb on their Facebook.com or MySpace.com page and for the dedicated, an entry into the WordPress or Blogger account. If you really want, you can always Digg it too. I remember when I was blogging my time overseas, I got an email from a reporter for the Los Angeles Times who wanted to use some of my information in an article she was using. I was flattered to say the least, but it goes to show that reporting as it was once known has made a revolution. Everyday people are deciding the next new headlines and not a boardroom of stuffy editors trying to design the world news.

With internet speeds becoming much faster and more affordable, people jumped at the opportunity to post videos on YouTube of their crazy antics or one sided conversations about their life. Then the launch of sites such as uStream have become the next evolution. No longer happy with just the printed word, young and old alike are now streaming their life in real time over the web. Besides the cost of the DSL or cable connection, all you need is a decent computer and webcam and you can broadcast your existence to hundreds or thousands of viewers at once. This technology has been commercialized for the use of everything from relationship advice to technology discussions and is completely interactive with IRC chat rooms and phone calls that have made normal media pale in comparison.

It would seem that the next evolution would take a bit of time to emerge, but not far after a college graduate named Justin Kan enter the scene, did the lifecasting generation poke through the fields. Justin’s start up Justin.tv has brought lifecasting to the masses. Not just a video log of past events, but a real time in your face experience of what everyday people are doing on a minute by minute moment. Starting off as just a single ‘channel’ and making the opportunity available to other people ready to stay on the edge of the web, it wasn’t going to take long to get some takers on the next generation of web2.0 junkies.

A prime example of these pioneers is Justine Ezarik from Pennsylvania. She is a web design and video editor that looks to have gotten her start filming videos on the street, parking lots and even in the corners of Wal-Mart along with her best friend and roommate Desiree. Justine or iJustine as she is known to her thousands of friends and online fans, took after the internet in a fury. She was part of the national Yahoo talent search and just doing a Google search of her name generates approximately 200,000 links to various blogs, video sites and news clippings of her work and exposure on the web. She once claimed during a brief interview on ABC’s Nightline that she was born with an Apple Inc. logo birthmark. It seemed natural that a creative and charismatic Justine who openly jokes that she “is the internet” would enter the 24/7 world of lifecasting. In May of 2007 she hooked a camera to her hat and the iJustine.tv show was born.

Justine Ezarik can be seen hanging out at her apartment watching the entire 4 series of LOST while doing her video editing and her viewers can travel along with her to Los Angeles, San Francisco and where ever else she finds herself. Some days are boring with the camera sitting on a table as we watch Justine edit one of her many videos or when she needs a bit of privacy, we get to see a great framed picture of Steve Job’s the CEO of Apple Inc that she keeps on her desk. Most days are pretty eventful. Regardless of if she is at home working or on the road, she gets into the chat room and talks to the fans, telling stories to the camera or just talks about what ever is on her mind at the moment. Sometimes acting silly just to watch the viewers go crazy writing messages on the board of how great she is. This level of interaction combined with the ever so subtle product placements could be the next venue of advertising if done right.

With online applications like Twitter and Pownce which allow for constant communication like a mashup of IM and file sharing being integrated with a personal web site that can give detailed adventures. People can keep in touch with their friends, business partners and fans easily through web, sms or mobile web applications that make being out of touch almost impossible. Most applications have alert systems that can notify you through IM, email or txt messages of what any of your connections are doing ay time of the day or night.

It seems that anyone with a computer today can claim their piece of the fame market share. Some will actually see the finish line where ever that may be. This generation of people that live their lifes online through blogs, video and full interaction is still in the beginning phases and in the next few years I think that the talent pool of lifecasters will triple. Once the integration of the web gets more seamless people will be able to check in on anyone they have access to 24 hours a day. The YOU Generation is upon us. Where do you fit in?

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