4 ms·

Justin.tv on NPR (includes link to audio)

14 points by vegashacker 20y ago

aston 20y ago
$50k in funding from YC (or maybe just from PG)? That's impressive. Over twice the typical amount. What kind of valuation are we talking, here?
- pg 20y ago
  It was a one-off deal. This startup wasn't in one of the regular YC batches, though their original one (Kiko) was.
  - aston 20y ago
    Fair enough. Is this the first startup to get that sort of treatment?
    - SwellJoe 20y ago
      I believe there have been a couple of others. This is probably the reason the application no longer requires an idea: YC figures if you're talented/persistent enough, you'll eventually hit on something good.
    - pg 20y ago
      There was one other one where we invested as angels in the series A round. Ordinarily we wouldn't invest that late, but these guys seemed exceptionally smart and driven.
  - mukund 20y ago
    - mukund 20y ago
    - ido 20y ago
      Can anyone explain what is exactly so great about this idea? It's the 90's all over again...
    - Sam_Odio 20y ago
      I hate the censoring of comments on reddit & news.yc. It seems contrary to the entrepreneurial mindset. If Steve Jobs got on a board like this in the '70s, and announced that he was going to start a company building PCs when mainframes were sexy, he probably would've been downvoted too.
      - Sam_Odio 20y ago
        Ok, I might've over reacted there. I should've said I LOVE everything about News.YC except the censoring of down-voted comments :) Regardless, it looks like other comments w/ negative karma are grayed out (like http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=13764 http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=13764 ). So I imagine this comment was probably deleted by the author...
  - markovich 20y ago
    And how much are you taking from them for this contribution?
  - gibsonf1 20y ago
    I was a bit shocked to hear about Justin (yet another media outlet) on NPR - this is truly becoming a global phenomenon. The value of the PR they've received to date is unbelievable - I'm interested to see how they convert all this fame into a business model, which I'm sure they'll be able to do. Nice job believing in their radical idea PG.
    - jaed 20y ago
      I don't know how "radical" the idea is. Justin.tv is "Web 2.0" for Jennicam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JenniCam). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JenniCam).
      - nickb 20y ago
        Justin.tv is not Jennicam. Justin.tv is a business and has a business plan that can be executed. Think reality TV... think internet television.
  - dawie 20y ago
    50K is a small investment to make for a company that you believe will hit the big time. I guess YC will get more equity.
bootload 20y ago
'... It's not as if it's a new idea. Remember the 1999 movie EDtv ...' Lets go way back to wearcomp [0] with steve mann [1] and cyberman [2] before we get all misty eyed. I'd really like to see something more than just a camera. Mann has gone a step beyond mere transmission with augmentation. Better still go look what students & mann are looking at now. [3] The tech details are here. [4] Q. Does jtv have the ability for users to communicate? Or is it unicast? Reference [0] Wearcomp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann#Mann_as_Cyborg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann#Mann_as_Cyborg [1] Steve Mann 'quick bio' http://wearcam.org/bio.htm http://wearcam.org/bio.htm [2] Steve Mann, Cyberman, film, 'Steve Mann is the world's first real cyborg, 2001, 87min' http://wearcam.org/cyberman.htm http://wearcam.org/cyberman.htm [3] eyetap.org, Seeing Eye People, 'Research on remote guidance for visually impaired' http://eyetap.org/tpw/index.php http://eyetap.org/tpw/index.php [4] eyetap.org, 'hardware list for eyetap users ~ /proc/wearcomp_hardware' http://eyetap.org/tpw/wearcomp6.htm http://eyetap.org/tpw/wearcomp6.htm
- yaacovtp 20y ago
  Have to add in this page which shows hundreds of users http://glogger.eyetap.org/viewall.php http://glogger.eyetap.org/viewall.php Justin clearly proves you don't need an original idea to get buzz, sponsors, and funding. Execution and timing can take you far.
  - bootload 20y ago
    '... Justin clearly proves you don't need an original idea to get buzz, sponsors, and funding ...' Very true. I think the commercial worlds just seen a glimpse of Stephensons gargoyles [0] and blinked at the possibilities. Reference [0] Neil Stephenson, 'Snow Crash contained Gargoyles that where constantly wired for sound, images and other sensors selling the information to the highest bidder.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash

14 points by vegashacker 20y ago

aston 20y ago

$50k in funding from YC (or maybe just from PG)? That's impressive. Over twice the typical amount. What kind of valuation are we talking, here?

pg 20y ago
It was a one-off deal. This startup wasn't in one of the regular YC batches, though their original one (Kiko) was.
- aston 20y ago
  Fair enough. Is this the first startup to get that sort of treatment?
  - SwellJoe 20y ago
    I believe there have been a couple of others. This is probably the reason the application no longer requires an idea: YC figures if you're talented/persistent enough, you'll eventually hit on something good.
  - pg 20y ago
    There was one other one where we invested as angels in the series A round. Ordinarily we wouldn't invest that late, but these guys seemed exceptionally smart and driven.
- mukund 20y ago
  - mukund 20y ago
  - ido 20y ago
    Can anyone explain what is exactly so great about this idea? It's the 90's all over again...
  - Sam_Odio 20y ago
    I hate the censoring of comments on reddit & news.yc. It seems contrary to the entrepreneurial mindset. If Steve Jobs got on a board like this in the '70s, and announced that he was going to start a company building PCs when mainframes were sexy, he probably would've been downvoted too.
    - Sam_Odio 20y ago
      Ok, I might've over reacted there. I should've said I LOVE everything about News.YC except the censoring of down-voted comments :) Regardless, it looks like other comments w/ negative karma are grayed out (like http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=13764 http://news.ycombinator.com/comments?id=13764 ). So I imagine this comment was probably deleted by the author...
- markovich 20y ago
  And how much are you taking from them for this contribution?
- gibsonf1 20y ago
  I was a bit shocked to hear about Justin (yet another media outlet) on NPR - this is truly becoming a global phenomenon. The value of the PR they've received to date is unbelievable - I'm interested to see how they convert all this fame into a business model, which I'm sure they'll be able to do. Nice job believing in their radical idea PG.
  - jaed 20y ago
    I don't know how "radical" the idea is. Justin.tv is "Web 2.0" for Jennicam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JenniCam). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JenniCam).
    - nickb 20y ago
      Justin.tv is not Jennicam. Justin.tv is a business and has a business plan that can be executed. Think reality TV... think internet television.
- dawie 20y ago
  50K is a small investment to make for a company that you believe will hit the big time. I guess YC will get more equity.

bootload 20y ago

'... It's not as if it's a new idea. Remember the 1999 movie EDtv ...' Lets go way back to wearcomp [0] with steve mann [1] and cyberman [2] before we get all misty eyed. I'd really like to see something more than just a camera. Mann has gone a step beyond mere transmission with augmentation. Better still go look what students & mann are looking at now. [3] The tech details are here. [4] Q. Does jtv have the ability for users to communicate? Or is it unicast? Reference [0] Wearcomp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann#Mann_as_Cyborg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann#Mann_as_Cyborg [1] Steve Mann 'quick bio' http://wearcam.org/bio.htm http://wearcam.org/bio.htm [2] Steve Mann, Cyberman, film, 'Steve Mann is the world's first real cyborg, 2001, 87min' http://wearcam.org/cyberman.htm http://wearcam.org/cyberman.htm [3] eyetap.org, Seeing Eye People, 'Research on remote guidance for visually impaired' http://eyetap.org/tpw/index.php http://eyetap.org/tpw/index.php [4] eyetap.org, 'hardware list for eyetap users ~ /proc/wearcomp_hardware' http://eyetap.org/tpw/wearcomp6.htm http://eyetap.org/tpw/wearcomp6.htm

yaacovtp 20y ago
Have to add in this page which shows hundreds of users http://glogger.eyetap.org/viewall.php http://glogger.eyetap.org/viewall.php Justin clearly proves you don't need an original idea to get buzz, sponsors, and funding. Execution and timing can take you far.
- bootload 20y ago
  '... Justin clearly proves you don't need an original idea to get buzz, sponsors, and funding ...' Very true. I think the commercial worlds just seen a glimpse of Stephensons gargoyles [0] and blinked at the possibilities. Reference [0] Neil Stephenson, 'Snow Crash contained Gargoyles that where constantly wired for sound, images and other sensors selling the information to the highest bidder.' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash