Magnetic Pages Article | 1998-04-18 | 148KB | 451 lines
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( |UR
One of the more curious
phenomenons of the
Internet are HomeCam
sites. These are where
people allow you a
glimpse into their lives
by placing a camera
image from inside their
homes on the Internet,
an image that's updated
every minute or two, or
even more often. Welcome
to the future, people.
** JenniCam **
I first heard aboutDthese (prior to getting online) in New Zealand NetGuide's "top500"Dweb sites booklet, where a site called JennieCam made the grade.D"Jenni caused quite a stir when she hooked a camera in he bedroom up9to the Net..." it said, which I thought was rather brave.
DOn visiting the JenniCam site at <www.boudoir.org> you'll read theDfollowing... "This site is not pornography. Yes, it contains nudityDfrom time to time. Real life contains nudity. Yes, it containsDsexual material from time to time. Real life contains sexualDmaterial. However, this is not a site about nudity and sexualDmaterial. It is a site about real life." Needless to say, Jenni'sDsite became very popular very quickly. But she is right, it's boringDold life you're most likely to see if you visit, not porn. What'sDmore, she's seriously considering spending the rest of it online.DWhich will mean there'll be a photo taken every two minutes of nearDenough to someone's whole life, (or at least one of their rooms),Dfor future anthropologists to ponder over. (Note however thatDJenniCam for non-paying guests is only updated every 20 minutes.4WebCams can be expensive to maintain it would seem.)
DJenni of JenniCam, which is exactly two years old this week as IDwrite, (18th April 1998), is now something of a celebrity, havingDbeen written about in non-computer publications and appearing on USDTV. She also attracts a fair share of controversy, a recent commentDabout her coming from Leo J. Hindery, Jr. (President of TCI, aDleading provider of cable television), who has "a special place inDmy life and in my heart for the Catholic Church." In a speechDaddressing 50 bishops at the "New Techology And The Human PersonDConference", see <www.zdnet.com/zdnn/content/zdnn/0327/301856.html>,-he had the following to say about JenniCam...
D"There are also sites on the Internet that demonstrate a profoundDneed for a reinforced relationship with our young people, a bondDthat you can help to reestablish if you understand what's at stake.DNBC last week told the story of the Jennie Cam Internet Web site.DJennie, a young, attractive 21-year old woman, has apparentlyDaffixed a camera in the corner of her one-room apartment. The cameraDruns 24-hours a day, seven days a week, capturing such privateDmoments as Jennie dressing, sleeping, working, playing with her catDand having sex. Those images may be viewed by anyone anywhere in theDworld on the Internet, and they are -- her Web site gets 500,000Dvisitors a day. Jennie has attracted a cult following of voyeurs. ItDmay sound pathetic, but people actually relate to Jennie; they feelDthey know her personally - so much so that men worldwide regard%Jennie as their "virtual" girlfriend.
D"If you open any newspaper in America, you will see the number ofDpersonal ads placed by people hungering for a relationship withDsomeone -- anyone. The Internet version of those ads are chat rooms,Dhundreds of Web sites that cater to lonely people who just needDsomeone to talk to, in code that I personally find impossible toDunderstand. It's the most tenuous of contact, yet it seems toDprovide some level of satisfaction in a world with people who seem-increasingly disconnected from one another."
DNow you may think the above was leading up to a call for censorship, but no...
D"While I debate the extent of my moral responsibility to myDcustomers, I do know that I can -- and I should -- act as aDrestrictive censor in my own home. I have controls in place on ourDhome computer that block a wide range of materials from entering myDhome and assaulting the senses of me, my wife and our teenageDdaughter. I determine what's right and what's not in my ownDhousehold -- not the Supreme Court. And that's the way it should
DJenni's response to this see (<www.zdnet.com/zdnn/content/zdnn/0327/
301848.html>) was...
D"With sites about things like child pornography, bestiality, andDSatan worship popping up by the thousands on the Internet, I find itD`stunningly immoral' that he condemns my site, a site about nothingDmore than real life, before any of those other concerns, said theD22-year-old Jenni, who prefers not to use her last name. `Either theDTCI president has got his moral concerns rather mixed up in order ofDimportance, or I skipped a little more Sunday School than IDthought,' she said. `I find comments like those to be very typical>of someone who has never actually seen my site,' Jenni added."
DPoor Jenni attracts the majority of such comments, but there's nowDhundreds of other people with homecams out there ranging from thoseDwho remain forever clothed online, to those for whom the opposite isDthe whole point of the matter. (See the HomeCAM site atD<http://209.203.80.31/index.html> for a good list of homecams.)DWhile many of those at the explicit end of the spectrum are no doubtDfrom the sex industry to begin with, (and they'll expect you toDpay), there are others who are in it just for fun, or perhaps as a
means of artistic expression.
** AnaCam **
$While JenniCam is devoted to showing$life as it is and as unaffected by$the camera as possible, Ana Voog's$cam (see <www.anacam.com>) is the$opposite, she merrily playing to the$camera when in the mood, altering$its image before it's sent to her$site, (say, by changing the$palette), and adding text to the$picture which, (when it's not an$advert), can make all the differenceDto the otherwise mundane. (Rudy Sanchez's interest perked up forDinstance when the caption along the lines of "I dreamed last nightDthe alphabet had disappeared" was displayed.) Add to this the factDshe lives in a gloriously cluttered and colourful house whichDwouldn't look out of place as an alien's abode, and you've a homecam
that's worth repeated visits.
DWhether AnaCam could be called art is debatable, (and I can hearDsomeone saying - "Yeah right, stick a cam in your room and hey -Dyou're suddenly producing `art'"), but I'm on the side of those whoDsay it probably is. The site captured my attention when "All Real -DAll Fake - All Me" appeared written over a nude, sleeping Ana, (sheDbeing a well-augmented gal), and has held it since, though of lateDher promotion of her pay site has been a bit of a pain. (It having aDbigger display and faster update then the two minute rate of her-free cam.) Whatever, hers is a site to watch.
, ** HomeCam Dangers **
DThere are dangers in this homecam business, both large and small.DJenni for instance started receiving demands from someone for her toDstrip, with threats that she'd be cut up if she didn't. When sheDrefused, her site was hacked into and mutilated bodies displayed onDit. And today when I looked, what should be her main site atD<www.jennicam.org> was in fact displaying a list of porn sites.
(Hacked again, perhaps?)
DOn a less frightening level, the fact that anyone from anywhere canDsend you emails lends you open to personal abuse and unreasonableDdemands on a grand scale. A good example was BoyCam, (yes, gayDboys), who took their free site off the air due to it becoming aDpain to do... "As time went on, many of you (you know who you are)Dbombarded us with snippy and pissy messages complaining and bitchingDwhen we weren't `performing' on a regular basis for the camera. ItDgot to the point where we wondered why we were providing thisD`service' when it seemed no matter what we did made our `public'Dhappy. Guys on the East coast bitched about us not being on when itLwas convenient for
[3mthem
[0m. What many of you failed to realize is thatDwe DO have lives outside of the Internet (we are sorry for those ofDyou who don't) and that we do have feelings. This was a service noneDof you paid for. This was a site which took countless hours ofDdedication and programming which became little more than a thanklessDjob." Not my type of site, ( (: ), but it's a good example of what/can kill the golden (and free) eggs out there.
DIt can be just as bad for the girls who're into `performing' too,
one being Calla of APinkCow at
<http://members.aol.com/
apinkcow/>. Which isn't the
(pay) site she performs at,
but her marvellously fun
personal site. A little while
ago she caught chickenpox,
(which is no fun for adults I
can tell you, I having had it
in my twenties), which made
her feel not much in the mood
for performing. Result?
Complaints to the sick lady
about her taking time off
work. (As she's a mother, timeDoff work probably wasn't an option anyway. She'd refusedDhospitalisation to stay with her kids.) Me? I would have gone on camDand scratched and scratched and scratched. That would have learnt
them.
DBut it's not all hell. DS of CornerCAM (see below) was on cam forDover a month before receiving her first hate-email, which sheDproudly placed on her site for all to see, complete with theDsender's email address. (Before taking it off within a day.) So,Dunless you're doing something the creeps of the Net will beDinterested in, your biggest worry will probably be bandwidth, or the
lack of it.
- ** What I'm Watching **
DWebcams work both-ways, so It's only fair I try to describe thingsDfrom a viewer's point of view as well. I have WebTV, a neat AmigaDprogram written specifically for viewing webcams, so when I'm onlineDany of the cams I'm interested in are just a mouse-click away. (TheDpicture at the start of this article is from WebTV's screen.) TheDdown-side to this is I don't see the pages the webcams are on unlessDI decide to visit them with my browser, but at least it savesDloading those pages when it's usually only the cam image that
changes.
DGenerally, when I go online I'll first check my email, then the camsDthat interest me. Usually one view of each is enough to tell meDnothing much different is happening today compared to yesterday,Dthough figuring out which cams are live at the moment is a bit hardDto calculate, New Zealand ones excepted. Anyway, here's the current'list of cams I have a look at, and why.
,AnaCam: Because she's clever. (See above.)
DCornerCam: Because she's in New Zealand and I've been in touch withDher. (See below.) I also visit her site proper once a day because itDchanges often, (and I don't mean only her diary), and for thisDreason it's actually more interesting than her cam. Will she be able2to keep it running and free? That is the question.
DElk Street at <www.elkstreet.com>: Which is actually a bird'sDhomecam, but which looks picture-postcard pretty at the moment, it5being a very snowy spring (or autumn) wherever it is.
DEtna at <www.iiv.ct.cnr.it/bitmaps/tvetna.jpg>: Okay, so it's not aDhomecam at all, but hey - it glow red in the dark and is updated
every thirty seconds...
DJamey Dee at <http://rearwindow.com/jameydee/webcam.html>: Why she'sDdoing it she doesn't know, and neither do I know why I visit, otherDthan that she looks nice. (And deserves that cool car of hers -
check it out!)
DJenniCam: (See above.) Well, she's in my list at the moment, butDmainly because I've been researching this article. Will probably#stay there for historical purposes.
DTadpole at <http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~tadpole>: Which is the onlyDother New Zealand homecam I've found and which I'll be checking outDat least until I discover him (them, actually) online. It changesDregularly, but I've never caught them at it yet! (And no, I don'tDmean that. Kiwis would never be so tacky. Hmmm, actually, I haven't5checked out the site proper yet... Nah, surly not...)
DTaxiCam at <www.ultimatetaxi.com>: Which is a cam in a taxi, pointedDat the customers. Another one that updates regularly but which I'veDnever caught live. This is cool because taxi customers areDinvariably happy. Is heaven an endless taxi ride with God as the?driver I wonder? Anyway, if you need cheering up, drop in here.
DAnd that's it, (ignoring the much bigger list used for impressingDpeople new to the Internet.) Why look at them at all? For the sameDreason people like to watch Coronation Street, or kids theDTelletubbies' "movies in their bellies". (And the repeat of it.) ButDwith the added attraction of knowing it's real and, if you wish, youDcan email those on cam and say hello. And to hell with what Leo J.
Hindery, Jr. says. (:
) ** CornerCAM **
DFinally, a look at and a chat with DS of CornerCAM atD<www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Realm/3583/index.html>. This is theDNew Zealand site mentioned above and is a full-blown bedroom cam in
the Jennicam tradition.
Called CornerCAM
because... "10 to 1 all
the shots u'll see have
me stuffed into the
bottom right had corner
of the screen..." (Note
that freeform is DS's
prefered style of written
English. What's more, the
other nine tenths of the
time she'll be in bed
asleep.)
Anyway, CornerCAM is live
when she's home, which
usually means from about
dusk to dawn New Zealand
time, and sometimesDduring the day at the weekends. Her cam, although not colour, isDupdated every minute. And what'll you see when she's online? Well,DDS in her corner, or DS in bed, plus a cat. Anything else isDstatistical error. As I said above, her often changing site isDactually more interesting, but it's kinda nice to be able seeDthere's someone else in NZ who's also sitting in front of theDcomputer for much too much of their time, not to mention staying upDlater than me. A feeling of community is also an aspect of homecams.
DSince starting CornerCAM, it's had to move from New Zealand's IHUGDISP to Geocities, IHUG, like most New Zealanders when confrontedDwith an original talent, not having a clue how to appreciate it.DBut, unlike in the past, at least she can still do her stuff from(New Zealand! Isn't technology wonderful?
DWell, she can for the moment anyway, but I noticed a message lastDnight, (or this morning, or sometime in the last day), saying thatDGeocities had cut her FTP link, so what that will mean for theDfuture of her cam remains to be seen. It's still running at the
moment, anyway.
DNow follows an interview I did via email with DS of CornerCAM,
giving you I hope some
insight into why someone
would place themselves in
the public gaze so fully.
Enjoy. (And ignore the
freeform. :)
** CornerCAM Interview **
CR: How long has Corner-
CAM been running and how
would you describe the
response it's received so
DS: since about the 24thDof the 2nd.. so about a month. the response has been not quite
overwhelming.. but close to it.
DCR: You're getting over a hundred emails a day. Does that make>doing the CornerCAM site seem worthwhile, or the opposite... ?
DDS: that really depends on the mail. thoughtful mails that areDinteresting and have more to them made it fun.. the short one lineDor one word mails like "hi im watching u" or" hi your cute" just+make me want to get rid of the damn camera.
Das for worthwhiled, the fact ive gained a few new interesting.friends because of the cam..thats worthwhiled.
8CR: Have you worked out why you're doing CornerCAM yet?
DDS: it started because special friend wanted to see me, processedDto other friends watching.. all friends b4 the cam.. exisitingDfriends.. it just seemed a logical step to go from letting close
friends to other ppl seeing it.
DCR: Predictable question. What do your family and friends think
about the cam?
DDS: they dont think about it. in fact they dont know about it. if+they did it would ruin the idea of reality.
DCR: Hmmm, unpredictable answer! But I'm sure when they do find outDthe response will be along the lines of "That's nice dear." and notD"You're doing WHAT?!?!?!" "Have you gone stark raving bonkers!?!"D"What will the neighbours think?!?" etc., etc. Yes, of course it
will be...
DDS: the response would be more "your not doing anything bad are u?"Dto which i will explain why im doing it.. the reasons and what i do.>ie life as art art as life point.. then theyd be fine with it.
DCR: I suggested to a friend that if they hooked up to the Internet,Dthey could get their own webcam. The (predictable) response to thisDwas... "I can think of few things more horrific than living in aDvirtual goldfish bowl." Is that how it feels from your side of the
glass?
DDS: the way i see it.. im never going to do anything im actuallyDashamed of... so what does it matter who sees it. if im ashamed of/it.. i shouldnt be doing it in the first place.
DCR: Webcams, and especially bedroomcams such as yours, createDinteresting questions about what people consider to be private. AnDeasier thing to put on the Web than a camera image would be liveDsnapshots of people's computer displays, yet I've never heard of@anyone doing this. Would you consider this, and if not, why not?
DDS: pc monitors and cams work on the theory of scrolling down anDimage over the screen very very quickly.. thus they sort ofDflicker.. but cams and screens scroll at a slightly different rate..Dthus sometimes if u see a film or a still pic of a tv is just blur.Du can get technology to get the scroll times in sync.. but6technically its very exspensive and impractical to do.
DCR: I wasn't thinking of using a camera to snapshot the computerDscreen, but using the computer to do it. Meaning snapshot the bitmapDof the display, JPEG it and send that to the Internet. Thus peopleDcould see what your computer screen contained every minute orDwhatever. Ignoring bandwidth problems, how would you feel about
doing this?
DDS: there are some things i think and say i possibly wouldnt wantDsplashed across the screen, and i know.. if i knew i was beingDwatched my writing would change. images work on a different level. uDsee something and what the viewer sees in it is its meaning. if uDlook at set text..then what the meaning is is totally reliant onDthat text.. theres almost no viewer input. there none of the "oh sheDlooks sad i wonder what shes thinking" its set down for u.. there isDprint. i cant see why something like that would be interesting forDanyone. it doesnt include them. as to if id do it. no. privancy isntDa free for all.. everyone needs a little privancy.. even me. and
thats my privancy of thoughts.
DCR: As far as I know, yours is New Zealand's first bedroomcam. (InDfact the only other NZ homecam I'm aware of is one called Tadpole,Dwhich seems to get updated often enough but which I've never caughtDlive.) Given that, it seem reasonable our local media willDeventually get interested in you. So, are you prepared for when Paul+Holmes comes knocking on your virtual door?
DDS: he has to ask first and frankly i wouldnt do it. and its prettyDeasy to hide the fact im a NZ'er to avoid that possiblity. this is aDvirtual thing.. designed only for the web.. to take it out of theDweb changes it and makes it something its not, i want to avoid that.
DCR: To quote from your site's FAQ: "actually its the arse of theDworld be never mind." Now I ask you, is that any way to talk about1the best little country in the whole, wide world?
DDS: my site also makes a disclaimer statement saying everything onDmy FAQ page is to be taken with humour. but ive traveled alot. iveDseen more of the world than most and i have to say NZ is not betterDor no worse than most places. its got its good and its bad. its not&great.. its not terrible.. it just is.
DCR: Why, when daylight saving ended, didn't you just change theDclock on your computer so the time would be right on the cam image,Dinstead of telling everyone for about a week that the time was
wrong?
DDS: becaus even tho my PC clock.. the clock the cam takes its timeDfrom, changed. the clock on the cam just didnt seem to roll back anDhour.. i tried repeatedly to change it. doing several things..tryingDdiffernt methods.. nothing worked to change it. untill a week later$i woke up and it had changed itself.
DCR: And here I was thinking you were just being lazy. It should be@interesting to see what your site does on December 31st, 1999...
DDS: well.. if my site is still going then my PC will probly scream,Dclutch its sides, thrash about a bit and die is a shower of sparks.0or mebbe thats just wishful thinking on my part.
DCR: With sleep deprivation, do you worry more about going to sleep0at the wheel or about getting ratty with people?
DDS: hmm i suffer from sleep deprivation? or is that a generalDcomment? im ratty to ppl even if i get alot of sleep.. and i dont0drive all that often. so no.. neither bother me.
DCR: Your moans about only managing five hours of sleep suggestedDyou might. But I guess it's just me. An hour a day was the maximum IDplanned to spend on the Internet, but I hadn't counted on ICONZ7providing it for almost free from midnight till dawn...
DDS: there was a question in there? my not sleeping isnt about theDnet. even when i didnt have a pc i didnt sleep.. i read books until
dawn.. i just dont sleep much.
CR: Why do you hate Demon UK?
DDS: a very close friend has them as his home isp.. they dump himDand eat his email alot. basically there a bad isp for him.. thus iDhate them on his behalf and because it limites the time i can have
talking to him
DCR: Final question. Who's this person you pine for in the middle
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