Media Streaming
Description
Streaming is multimedia that is constantly received and, in a two-way sense, transmitted between individuals using a digital medium. Live streams are often accompanied by live text chat, potentially among groups. Hence streaming often accompanies other methods, such as instant messaging. Sometimes deployed in ‘blind’ mode – in that participants are connected at random. Applications include public access television - a form of two way broadcasting based on non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cast through cable TV specialty channels.
Related Methods
Purpose
To host virtual meetings or simply informal in an attempt to meet new people, perhaps around shared interests or place. For participants, this is as close as it gets to an in-person experience while taking comfort in the anonymity of the internet.
Category
Debate
Strengths
- Can be recorded
- The combination of video and text is useful for the transfer of related information, such as web links and even files.
- Stimulates diversity.
- A way to meet new people, for casual chat and thus avoiding isolation.
Weaknesses
- Difficult to structure conversations or facilitate communications in this way.
- Hard to censor when live
- Needs a streaming server to handle the various connections.
- Participants’ require multimedia hardware (e.g. webcam) and suitable broadband connection.
- Stream quality is affected by environmental conditions (e.g. due to poor lighting or the dominance of background noise).
Examples
| Name | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Omegle | Blind mode multimedia chat | http://omegle.com/ |
| Chat Roulette | Blind mode multimedia chat | http://chatroulette.com/ |
| CamFrog | Video chat rooms | http://www.camfrog.com/ |
Tools
| Name | Link |
|---|---|
| Google Plus Hangouts | https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/+/learnmore/index.html#hangouts |
| Skype | http://www.skype.co.uk |
Profile
| Item | Descriptor |
|---|---|
| How important is it that you gain insight from your participants, such as statistical reports on participant demography etc? | Irrelevant |
| To what extent do you envisage your intervention in participation? | Mild effort |
| How would you describe the resources you have available to this activity? | There are many free services |
| How does the digital engagement activity need to integrate with other activity? | Digital domain only but technology exists in a number of non-PC forms (e.g. via a game console or digital television) |
| How public should the engagement activity be? | There may be some direct messaging which stays private |
| To what extent should participants take ownership of the activity? | Mainly between participants |
| How important is it to know the identity of the participants? | Participants normally have a trusted list of contacts. Moreover, identity clues in visual stream. |
| How quickly are results required? | Immediacy and spontaneity are key ingredients of the method |
| At what stage of your overall project will this engagement activity relate? | Universal |
| Are you hoping to engage a particular audience? | Universal |
| On what lines are participants likely to be grouped? | Tends to be location based for language reasons |
| How many people should the activity engage? | Universal |
| Should the activity have an emphasis on getting participants ideas and opinions to diverge, converge, or both? | Irrelevant |