Livestreaming a podcast

Live video streaming firm Livestream has launched twitcam.com, an ad-supported app that lets users add live streaming video to their Twitter feeds.

The offering works like popular Twitter app Twitpic, which enables users to log in with an existing Twitter account, upload an image and then automatically updates their Twitter streams with a link to the image, as well as any message they include.

Following suit, Twitcam.com users can log in with an existing Twitter account. Twitcam automatically detects whether a camera is plugged in, then creates a page and live video player for the broadcast. A link to the broadcast appears in users' Twitter feeds so followers can see them, or any content they wish to share, live.

Content is also hosted on Livestream's servers, meaning the finished video will always be accessible from the same link, and can be embedded elsewhere. For example, here is a videocast recorded by self-proclaimed "Jesus geek" John Wilkerson (@theONG):

A link to the live video, including a message he wrote from within the Twitcam interface, also appears on his Twitter stream:

The service could prove useful for live webinars, podcasts and casual product demos or reviews. Users that log into Twitcam with their Twitter accounts can also discuss the broadcast live from a chat section on the right-hand side of the screen.

Livestream is a service that enables users to stream live broadcasts from their home computers. Its offerings come in free and white label variations. The company was founded in 2007 as Mogulus; its name was changed to Livestream in May of this year.

It isn't clear where ads will appear on the Twitcam site; at present there are few to be seen. As the service grows more popular it will likely attract more visible sponsorship, however.

In related news, rival streaming site Justin.tv recently launched a Facebook app that enables users to broadcast live from their Facebook pages. The service is also free to users.