David Talbot interviewed me for this article in the MIT Technology Review, Cell-phone Streaming: Qik lets tourists--and reporters--broadcast live from phones:
Wandering the streets of Manchester, NH, during the presidential primary campaign, a self-described "citizen journalist" named Steve Garfield bumped into Duncan Hunter, a minor Republican candidate. Garfield pointed his phone's camera at Hunter for a quick interview, whereupon Hunter disclosed that he was about to tell CNN he wasn't quitting the race.That quote is accurate... Ha, ha! I'm valley speaking.
What Hunter didn't know is that Garfield's phone was armed with software from the startup Qik, allowing it to capture video and stream the interview--in real time--on Qik's website and thence to other platforms, including Garfield's Twitter network. Thus, Garfield says, he scooped CNN on this bit of election minutia...
The company is now working on business models. In one, it would sell ads to Web video consumers who text-message replies; in another, it would take a cut from sales of high-end cell phones that capture the best videos (which would come Qik-equipped). Garfield is happy to pay: "Viewers can type in a window while watching, and affect the coverage. That's, like, totally amazing and groundbreaking!"
Recap of my NH Primary Coverage.
Duncan Hunter, Qik video.
