Al Gore has partnered with Ustream for 24 Hours of Reality, a new international video event fighting climate change skeptics.

Al Gore has long argued the need to address climate change. However, the issue still comes with a heavy load of controversy from people and scientists claiming it isn’t real. Gore alleges that oil and coal company lobbyists are to blame and aims to set the record straight with 24 Hours of Reality, as part of the Climate Reality Project.

The event on September 14-15 will feature 24 presenters in 24 different time zones all speaking about the need to curb climate change. Each presenter will speak at 7 p.m. local time and address the international as well as local impact of the climate.

24 Hours of Reality will be livestreaming all 24 hours on Ustream at Ustream.tv/ClimateRealityProject, the team announced Tuesday. Users can also submit their own videos, which might be shown during the event.

Activists itching to start can head to the Climate Reality Project website to watch a short video, share info through their social networks, RSVP to participate in the 24-hour marathon or donate.

The site also features an interactive map showcasing each of the 24 cities participating in the event. Users can click on each to learn more about how climate change has affected the area.

What do you make of the campaign and the controversy around climate change? Sound off in the comments.

More About: al gore, climate change, livestream, social good, video

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Vokle itself is not a destination site, each broadcast is embeddable and intended to be added to users’ blogs, websites, and so on. The user-facing interface offers a fairly straightforward video chat layout, where those watching the broadcast can submit realtime feedback and interact with a simple chat feature, while the broadcaster is able to take advantage of various curation and editing tools. The creator can also assign roles to assist in moderating the event, including video screeners and remote co-hosts.

It’s a nifty little platform, great for creating branded events, and I see it being very useful in auditions, political town hall meetings, conferences, etc., but it’s been some missing essential features. Now, it seems, Vokle is finally closing the gap, having announced that its users will now have access to video recordings of every event created on the platform (going forward). Ten to twenty minutes after each event has concluded, the video recording will automatically be updated to appear to users’ event and series pages on Vokle, or to the location of a user’s embedded video.

What’s more, recordings allow viewers to skip ahead to specific questions (called “chapters”) asked during the live event, making the viewing of the recorded video more akin to watching a DVD than VHS. Vokle automatically turns each question taken by the host, whether text or video, into a mark on the video timeline (which is seen as a small circle) below the video. Not unlike SoundCloud’s embedded comments in its waveform layout.

So, as a users click to a new video, users can view the series, the topic of the video at hand, and are now able to scroll through what is essentially a table of contents to view the “chapters” or “questions” that are most interesting to the viewer.

With one click, viewers hover over that circle, at which point they will be given the option to blast out a link to a specific question via Facebook or Twitter that will link to a specific segment in the recording. So, if a user embeds a live event onto their site, once the event is over, that embed code will automatically update later with all the chapters and sharing features, and every live broadcast is automatically turned into a recording, so this isn’t a feature users need to request as needed.

Vokle has a lot of growing left to do, and it needs to make sure that it’s building a viable business rather than something that’s just a snazzy set of video features. It’s added a couple of integral enhancements to its overall product, and has a lot of potential, but there are still miles to go, especially considering that Google can simply add “Hangouts”, its cloud-based video-conferencing platform that’s part of Google+, and the tech industry will reflexively declare it the winner in group video.

So, there’s more to go, but Vokle — being ad-free and containing live chat, the ability to add video and text questions in realtime, a mobile app, and polling — is off to a pretty good start.

For more on Vokle’s new features, check out the video below:

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Vokle itself is not a destination site, each broadcast is embeddable and intended to be added to users’ blogs, websites, and so on. The user-facing interface offers a fairly straightforward video chat layout, where those watching the broadcast can submit realtime feedback and interact with a simple chat feature, while the broadcaster is able to take advantage of various curation and editing tools. The creator can also assign roles to assist in moderating the event, including video screeners and remote co-hosts.

It’s a nifty little platform, great for creating branded events, and I see it being very useful in auditions, political town hall meetings, conferences, etc., but it’s been some missing essential features. Now, it seems, Vokle is finally closing the gap, having announced that its users will now have access to video recordings of every event created on the platform (going forward). Ten to twenty minutes after each event has concluded, the video recording will automatically be updated to appear to users’ event and series pages on Vokle, or to the location of a user’s embedded video.

What’s more, recordings allow viewers to skip ahead to specific questions (called “chapters”) asked during the live event, making the viewing of the recorded video more akin to watching a DVD than VHS. Vokle automatically turns each question taken by the host, whether text or video, into a mark on the video timeline (which is seen as a small circle) below the video. Not unlike SoundCloud’s embedded comments in its waveform layout.

So, as a users click to a new video, users can view the series, the topic of the video at hand, and are now able to scroll through what is essentially a table of contents to view the “chapters” or “questions” that are most interesting to the viewer.

With one click, viewers hover over that circle, at which point they will be given the option to blast out a link to a specific question via Facebook or Twitter that will link to a specific segment in the recording. So, if a user embeds a live event onto their site, once the event is over, that embed code will automatically update later with all the chapters and sharing features, and every live broadcast is automatically turned into a recording, so this isn’t a feature users need to request as needed.

Vokle has a lot of growing left to do, and it needs to make sure that it’s building a viable business rather than something that’s just a snazzy set of video features. It’s added a couple of integral enhancements to its overall product, and has a lot of potential, but there are still miles to go, especially considering that Google can simply add “Hangouts”, its cloud-based video-conferencing platform that’s part of Google+, and the tech industry will reflexively declare it the winner in group video.

So, there’s more to go, but Vokle — being ad-free and containing live chat, the ability to add video and text questions in realtime, a mobile app, and polling — is off to a pretty good start.

For more on Vokle’s new features, check out the video below:

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 premieres on Thursday in London, and fans of the franchise can check out the red carpet action live on YouTube and via Ustream and Livestream.

You can check out the Ustream above (or Livestream), or head over to YouTube, which has multiple angles of the event. YouTube has also packed the Harry Potter channel channel with all seven films (which one can rent), behind-the-scenes footage, parodies and interviews.

Livestreamed premieres are becoming an increasingly common practice on the web. YouTube streamed the premiere of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse last June, and MTV.com showcased the NYC premiere for the last Potter flick, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, last November.

More About: Film, harry potter and the deathly hallows part 2, live video, livestream, video, youtube

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In minutes create a free web app and share a url, email address, phone number, location, photos, videos, music, podcasts, apps and more.

Display linked icons for; Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Flickr, Instagram and 200 other networks, stores, sites and communities.

Include recent tweets, show RSS content. Embed videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Justin.tv and Ustream.

Or just use it as a notebook.

It’s a digital business card and information hub for people, businesses, places, events, websites, podcasts, bands; whatever it is that you want to connect and share online.

Create it once, use it anywhere, connect it all.

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An email from an Apple Japan employee and friend of Kevin Rose:

7 hours and 118 aftershocks later, the store was still open. Why? Because with the phone and train lines down, taxis stopped, and millions of people stuck in the Tokyo shopping district scared, with no access to television, hundreds of people were swarming into Apple stores to watch the news on USTREAM and contact their families via Twitter, Facebook, and email….

You know how in disaster movies, people on the street gather around electronic shops that have TVs in the display windows so they can stay informed with what is going on? In this digital age, that’s what the Tokyo Apple stores became.

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If you’ve been clicking on links and videos about Charlie Sheen‘s alleged death, you’ve been had by the latest social media malware scam.

Several similar headlines have been spreading around Facebook and, to a lesser extent, Twitter. They begin with “RIP!” or “Breaking News” and contain text to the effect that actor Charlie Sheen has died in his house or due to cardiac arrest.

Clicking on these links takes the user to a fake YouTube-clone page, where any click on any part of the screen will begin spreading the scam on the user’s own Facebook profile. Then, the user is asked to complete a survey before viewing the video, which adds a lead-gen layer to the click-jacking scheme. Finally, some folks are reporting being infected with malware after visiting the site, as well.

It’s a triple whammy of a Facebook hoax, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time for users. We’ve been seeing the actor on a social media blitz after his news media meltdown; he’s taken channels such as Twitter and UStream by storm over the past few days.

The scammers behind this malware have without doubt capitalized on Charlie Sheen’s recent insanity-fueled popularity, especially via social media channels. The actor hasn’t yet commented on the hoax publicly; we’re hoping he at least sends a message to fans from his Twitter account.

If you’ve already clicked links like the one above, first, go through your security settings and revoke any access for apps you don’t recall signing up for. Next, go through your profile and delete any spammy posts you may have sent out. (We’ve written in detail about exactly how to deal with Facebook click-jacking scams; reference that link if you need step-by-step instructions.) Finally, you might want to fire up your antivirus software and make sure your computer isn’t infected.

To the rest of you, safe clicking, and warn your friends about this scam.

More About: charlie sheen, facebook, malware, scam, security, twitter

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Let me explain …

Frank’s Story …

Frank Chimero is a talented designer who thought “You know, it’d be awesome to write a book.”

Instead of going the traditional publishing route, he decided to ask for funding to write the book before he’d even started. He used a site called Kickstarter which allows people to ‘back’ projects by pledging money and if the goal is hit, then the money is paid out and the project begins. He announced the project with this tweet:

Announcing The Shape of Design, the book. Back me on Kickstarter? kickstarter.com/projects/30453…

He decided to set the goal at $27,000 and insanely, he crushed that goal in less than a day, and now, two days later he’s up to $51,000. I’m not sure how he came up with the $27K figure, but I assume he added up the costs for his time, the printing and shipping.

Let me share one more interesting project, before I share my conclusions …

Natasha’s Story …

Natasha Wescoat is a very talented painter.

Natasha paints live on uStream and Justin.tv. As she works on a piece, viewers watch and by the end, there is often a bidding.

Here she is starting the painting …

and then finishing it about 3 hours later …

What’s the huge shift?

The power of crowd-funding sites like Kickstarter, and the entertainment draw of Ustream have created a brand new channel for designers (and developers, which I’ll cover in a minute) to get paid for doing something they love.

This model allows anyone with talent and a decent following (Twitter, Blog, Facebook, etc) to leave freelance and client work behind. They can simply move from  project to project, knowing that it will be a success before they even start, while also determining the subject matter of the work.

It’s similar to the patronage model, but you get to pick the creation. Wild.

Natasha has learned to combine her talent (painting) with live entertainment. There’s something very intriguing about watching someone live-paint, knowing you might be able to purchase the work at the end.

So how can you take part in this revolution?

1. Put in a good 2-3 years of hard work, building your following on Twitter, Facebook and your blog. Frank has around 13,000 Twitter followers, which is a decent chunk, but isn’t impossible to attain. You can’t expect to just click your fingers and succeed like this. Gotta do the time.
2. Be damn good at what you do. You’ll need to build a reputation and being kick ass and creative. Obviously no one is going to want to fund you if your work is sub-par.
3. Have an idea that’s creative, original and valuable. Just because you’ve achieved #1 and #2 above doesn’t mean any project your throw up on Kickstarter will succeed. The project has to stand on its own two feet.

What about Developers?

I also believe there’s an exciting opportunity for Developers here as well. Imagine this scenario …

You spot a much needed tool or service. A new framework, iPhone app, plug-in, etc. You decide you can create an awesome solution and you can dedicate a couple months to building something awesome. You create the project on Kickstarter and everyone who funds you gets a copy of the app/software/etc and a few exclusive goodies.

I’m hugely excited by this new model and it’ll be interesting to see what other projects crop up.

I can’t help thinking that two folks who should’ve done this are Ethan Marcotte (a book on Responsive Design) and Elliot Jay Stocks (with 8faces). I know Ethan is publishing a RD book with A Book Apart soon, but he could’ve completely controlled the project on his own if he wished. Getting published by a respected source like Zeldman and Co is awesome but it would’ve been interesting to see him, Cederholm or Keith do their books via Kickstarter instead.

Love to hear your thoughts!

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Live streaming video service Livestream has just released a Facebook application for Page owners that offers admins a simple way to stream live video from their Facebook Pages.

The Livestream for Facebook application works in conjunction with the Livestream Podcaster software for PC and Mac and gives Page owners the ability to stream live to their Facebook Page with a single click. The application is also fully customizable, supports Facebook chat and has features baked in that encourage Page visitors to share activity on their walls.

While live streaming services like Ustream and Justin.tv have been around for years, they’ve remained relatively niche in nature and have yet to really break outside the tech and entertainment bubbles. Before today, brands could work with these services to build custom live streaming video experiences into their Pages, but for a cost. Facebook, for instance, partnered with Livestream to power its Facebook Live channel.

Livestream’s do-it-yourself Facebook application for streaming video will no doubt help to popularize the live streaming movement for brands and businesses, especially given that the application is free to use, easy to install and works within Facebook’s familiar (and often viral) confines.

The application is now available through Livestream or Appbistro.

More About: facebook, facebook application, live streaming, livestream, video

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PayPal has announced the launch of PayPal for Digital Goods, a checkout solution that lets users manage payments online with just two clicks. The company also announced a major partner: Facebook.

The new product was revealed by PayPal VP Osama Bedier at the company’s Innovate Developer Conference in San Francisco. The company calls PayPal for Digital Goods the “online equivalent of dropping a quarter in the slot to buy a newspaper or play a video game.” With a few lines of code, developers can integrate PayPal micropayments into their websites.

In order to spread its digital goods product, PayPal has done everything it can to lower the barrier to entry for its platform. Payment transactions cost 5% plus $0.05 per purchase under $12, lower than most micropayment transaction standards. In addition, it’s also focused on making payments as simple as possible; after logging in, it only takes two clicks to complete a payment, and PayPal will recognize repeat users.

To get things started, PayPal has a slew of launch partners, including Autosport.com, FT.com, GigaOM, Justin.tv, Ooyala, Plimus, Tagged, Tyler Projects and Ustream. However, the big partner is Facebook, which has agreed to integrate PayPal’s digital goods platform; in other words, it won’t be long until you can buy virtual crops through your PayPal account.

We’re here live at PayPal’s Innovate 2010 Developer Conference where the company will make even more announcements about its payment platform. We’ll bring you all of the news as it happens.

More About: developers, ebay, payment, payments, paypal, paypal innovate

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Live-streaming website Ustream will be adding some new features in coming weeks: the Ustream Open Pay-Per-View (PPV) program and ad-free broadcasting.

Open PPV — currently available to only a small, hand-selected group — will allow anyone broadcasting via the site to apply in order to charge viewers for content. Once applicants are approved for the program, they will be able to monetize their content via PayPal.

“We are initially launching with PayPal, and plan to roll out other payment methods later,” says Shari Foldes, Ustream’s head of marketing. “We are hoping to offer Open PPV to all users by the end of the year.”

She says details of the revenue split between Ustream and broadcasters will be available once the program becomes available to everyone. Although a launch date has not been specified yet, the application process should be open soon. Those interested in the program can start signing up at ustream.tv/ppv to receive notices about the application process or submit requests for their own PPV shows.

In the meantime, ad-free broadcasting should be launched sometime in early November. Once available, broadcasters will be provided with a variety of options, which the company won’t elaborate on just yet, but which will essentially allow them to remove ads.

Take a look at a sample shot of a pay-per-view page below:

More About: live streams, pay per view, paypal, ustream

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Facebook, which is already widely used as a platform for distributing live video, is making a play of its own with a new app called Facebook Live.

However, unlike services like Ustream and Livestream that offer live video features for Facebook Pages, Facebook Live is more of a channel dedicated to the happenings of the social networking company as opposed to a platform for others.

In a statement, the company says it will be using Facebook Live “to be your window into what’s new at Facebook,” including celebrity guests that stop by the company’s HQ, demos of new features from employees and special events taking place (conceivably, things like the f8 conference).

The app itself looks a lot like other live video platforms, with integrated chat that broadcasts out to the News Feed. It’s also embeddable, and the company will be testing it out when actress America Ferrera stops by at 6 p.m. ET this evening.

It will be interesting to see how Facebook goes about promoting the feature. Might we see notifications in the News Feed when a big guest stops by the company’s HQ? That would give the site an opportunity to aggregate some huge audiences around live video, though it remains to be seen if that’s in the cards or if this is more of a PR move to make the company feel more personable.

Either way, it’s a nice boon for Livestream, which has been chosen as the official live video partner for the project.

More About: facebook, live video, livestream, trending

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On Tuesday, Judge Marsha Revel sentenced Lindsey Lohan to 90 days in jail. Today we’re learning that TMZ.com’s live broadcast of the hearing attracted record viewer numbers — 2.3 million viewers to be exact, most of whom stuck around for 16.3 minutes.

A live audience of 2.3 million viewers is practically unheard of on the web. The Ustream live broadcast of the Tiger Woods press conference was a huge event, but it attracted 683,000 viewers, small potatoes in comparison.

To put things in to perspective, cable television shows often draw far less numbers. For example, a repeat prime time episode of the CW’s America’s Next Top Model drew merely 1.424 million viewers on Wednesday according to Nielsen TV Ratings.

Broadcasting & Cable reports that TMZ’s stream, “came from the in-court pool, which was the one feed allowed by Judge Revel.” Clearly it was a wise move on TMZ’s part to stream the feed to an online audience. They also catered to their audience with different polls, one of which drew more than 800,000 votes.

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason for the massive viewership, though it’s probably safe to assume that both interest in Lohan’s legal woes and the growing consumer interest in watching events unfold live on the web are the two most significant factors.

We’re still somewhat baffled by the huge number. Did you tune in to the TMZ live stream?

[img credit: Wikipedia]

More About: lindsey lohan, livestream, tmz, tv

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Mashable is proud to present an evening with Bill Cosby and special guests live on Ustream at 8:00 p.m. ET, 5:00 PT tonight. The legendary actor and comedian will be premiering his new iPhone app, among other surprises.

Mashable Editor-in-Chief Adam Ostrow will be leading a discussion with Cosby and will be joined on stage by web entrepreneurs to discuss Cosby’s career as an entertainer and his involvement in social media, spanning Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, 12seconds, Ustream and more.

Submit Your Questions

We encourage you to participate in the live chat by submitting questions via the social stream. We’ll also ask Mr. Cosby some of your best questions submitted in the comments section of our previous post or on Twitter using the #cosbylive hashtag.

More About: bill cosby, cosbylive, interview, Live Stream, trending, ustream

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Mashable is proud to present an evening with Bill Cosby and special guests tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. ET live on Ustream, where the legendary actor/comedian/entrepreneur will be premiering his new iPhone App among other surprises.

Following a discussion with Mashable’s Editor-in-Chief Adam Ostrow (that’s me), Cosby will be joined on stage by a few other entrepreneurs in the space to discuss his involvement in social media, which spans across Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, 12seconds, Ustream and more.

You may remember that Cosby recorded a 12seconds video last year to prove to us that he was indeed paying attention and participating in the social media space, in spite of our initial skepticism. Tomorrow, we’ll get to dig in and see what “the Cos” is up to now as part of a two-hour live event.

We have a lot to discuss, but we’d love to know what you — our readers — would like Cosby and our panel (which includes execs from Ustream, 12seconds, Six Apart and Blog Talk Radio) to talk about. Let us know what you’d like to see us ask in the comments and tune in tomorrow night for some answers and some laughs.

As a teaser, here’s what Cosby said about his new projects last week on the Today Show:

Submit Your Questions

• The comments below.
• Twitter using #cosbylive
• Our Facebook Page
• In the comments of our Google Buzz account

More About: bill cosby, live video, social media, ustream

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Zynga, the creators of the blockbuster social game FarmVille, has raised another round of funding: $147 million, seemingly all from Japanese telecommunications and media conglomerate Softbank.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek and Nikkei English News, Zynga and Softbank have joined forces to spread Zynga’s wildly successful suite of social games throughout Asia. The company will focus on mobile devices — a smart move, considering that many Japanese consumers use their mobile phones as their primary access point to the web.

Just six months ago, Zynga raised an impressive $180 million from Russia’s Digital Sky Technologies, the same firm that invested $200 million in Facebook. Since then, Zynga has been rapidly rising in value; its most recently valuation placed it at over $4 billion. Zynga has raised a total of around $366 million in an angel and four subsequent rounds of funding.

Softbank has been making some high-profile investments into U.S. companies over the last year. In November 2008, Softbank invested millions in RockYou, another social application developer. More recently, live video platform Ustream raised $75 million in a round led by Softbank in order to expand its Asia operations.

Zynga will likely use the funds to accelerate its hiring spree and make acquisitions as it moves into Asia. Two weeks ago, the company acquired Challenge Games and its 35 employees for around $20 million.

Tags: farmville, social gaming, softbank, Zynga

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Want to know what more than 1 million gallons of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico looks like? Now you can.

WKRG, a local TV station in Mobile/Pensacola, Florida, is live streaming the environmental disaster on Ustream, with a live feed supplied by BP (embedded above). At the time of writing, almost 1000 viewers have tuned in to see the ongoing crisis.

Whether there’s much utility in actually seeing the leak first hand is questionable, but perhaps the stream will help to maintain awareness of the catastrophe still unfolding in the Gulf in Mexico.

[thumbnail img credit: jeferonix]

Tags: gulf, gulf oil spil, Live Stream, videol

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Live video platform Ustream has just rolled out Ustream.jp, the Japanese version of its website. It is the first step in its Asia expansion strategy.

The new Ustream.jp is a fully translated version of the service. It comes with all of Ustream’s features, including social stream chat. The content and featured shows are focused on Japanese users, providing them a customized experience.

“The launch of Ustream’s Japanese website is the first of many developments to grow Ustream’s worldwide presence specifically in Asia Pacific,” Ustream CEO John Ham told us in an e-mail. “It is our first-ever site-wide language translation and we are pleased with the response. With our Series B fundraising contribution from Softbank less than two months ago, we are moving expeditiously to fuel our growth. We’ve seen incredible traction in Japan and we expect this to continue as we further develop our offerings there.”

Interestingly enough, the initial launch announcement was made by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, not by Ustream. Softbank invested invested $75 million into Ustream earlier this year. Part of the rationale behind the rather large investment was that SoftBank believes that there is a huge opportunity for live video in Asia. Clearly the Ustream team is moving quickly to seize those perceived opportunities.

Tags: japan, live video, ustream, video

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Tiger Woods will compete in the 2010 Masters tournament next month, returning to golf from his five-month hiatus.

If you want to see him play, you’ll be able to do so in a new way: Comcast will stream live video of the Masters in addition to its traditional cable broadcast of the event, and both will be available in 3D.

You’ll need a 3D-enabled television or computer to experience it, but if you’ve got the hardware, tune on April 7 – 11 to see Tiger and the other golfers show off their skills. Comcast plans to stream about two hours of live footage each day. While the 3D web stream will be powered by Comcast, the official Masters website will host it.

It’s not clear whether or not the 3D streams will be limited to Comcast customers.

Tiger’s return to golf has been anticipated ever since his multiple extramarital affairs went public and dominated the news and Twitter’s trending topics for days.

Woods has already proven that he can draw a lot of viewers to a live stream — his post-affair press conference attracted 683,000 viewers on Ustream. We’ll see in a few weeks if his golfing prowess — and the intense consumer appeal of 3D — can pull in big numbers, too.

[img credit: Keith Allison]

Tags: 3D, comcast, Golf, live video, masters, masters-2010, sports, streaming video, tiger woods, video

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Is your site’s performance up to snuff? Comment here.

This of course freaked a lot of people out, but as Matt and Google as a whole has maintained, this would not trump relevance. It would be taken more into consideration when there are two sites of relatively equal relevance, but one site loads faster and delivers a better user experience. Matt reiterated this point in an interview we did with him this week at SMX.

WebProNews also chatted with Maile Ohye, Senior Developer Programs Engineer for Google at SMX, about website performance (speed), how that pertains to search rankings and the user experience, and some tips for making sure your site is up to speed, so to speak.

As far as site speed as a ranking factor, Ohye pretty much makes the same point as Cutts, and it’s probably not going to be something where all of a sudden all of the faster sites are ranking better and the slower ones are doing worse. But it does enhance the user experience, and she refers to a study that found that an optimized site actually increased conversions by 16%. So if you’re not optimizing your site’s performance for Google, maybe that’s a good enough reason on its own.

Watch the video to get some specific advice regarding some simple adjustments you can make to your site that can make a big difference.

If you’re one of those freaking out about getting your site performance optimized, you may feel better after hearing what she has to say, and realize that it might not be as big a deal as you thought.

By the way, Cutts also mentioned that the speed thing is completly independent of Caffeine.

Do you think site performance is a manageable attribute of your search engine marketing strategy? Discuss here.

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For those without access to the relevant channels, video streaming site Ustream is currently live streaming coverage of both the Chile earthquake aftermath and tsunami warnings for Hawaii and Pacific regions.

Coverage comes courtesy of local news channels.

We’ve embedded the channels below, and welcome your tips for following the earthquake and tsunami news elsewhere on the web.

Tsunami Warning for Hawaii Live Coverage

Chile Earthquake Rescues – CBS Live

Live earthquake coverage from Chile

Tags: chile, hawaii, pacific, trending, tsunami

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It’s Friday night, so before you shamble out to make copious mistakes at the clubs, you can brush up on your dance skills by catching the premiere of the new MTV flick, Turn the Beat Around, via Facebook and Ustream.

More and more, social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and YouTube are becoming entertainment portals for live and exclusive content. 50 Cent premiered his film Before I Self Destruct to an audience of 255,000 via Ustream, MySpace showcased the Twilight Saga: New Moon red carpet event (which garnered an audience of three million) and, today, Ustream live-streamed Tiger Woods’s press conference, drawing 683,000 viewers.

MTV’s Facebook/Ustream collaboration is just another example of such a partnership. The unique part is that this is the first time a full MTV film has premiered on Facebook before airing on television. Sure, television shows — like HBO’s How to Make it in America — have premiered on video sites like YouTube in the past, but a Facebook showing provides ample opportunities for interactions with fans. Think how valuable it will be for MTV to be able to gauge how the audience is receiving the movie as it airs via wall posts and shares. Forget the middleman (i.e. ratings services and surveys) — Facebook takes care of that simply by being the medium by which the film is shown.

Moreover, MTV is sure to reach a lot of eyes via Facebook. Sure, as of right now only 95 people have RSVP’d yes to the event, but, as we know, Facebook is now the number-two site on the web (after Google), which means chances of pulling a large audience are rather good.

So is the movie any good? Eh. The plotline is a little played-out (Really, a movie about a plucky girl who just wants to dance and the dudes she meets along the way? Like we haven’t seen that before), but the trailer looks fun. If you dig dance movies, checking it out probably won’t be that much of a time-waster. The movie streams live at 7 p.m. EST tonight, here.

In the meantime, check out the trailer below:

Tags: facebook, Film, live video, mtv, social media, television

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The web took a collective 15-minute pause this morning as Tiger Woods made his first public statement since becoming engulfed in scandal back in November. Ustream is the first in with numbers from the event, as it tells us that its live stream drew 683,000 views.

We thought the event might be huge given the interest in the Woods scandal and the fact the event took place during the U.S. work day, and the numbers from Ustream indicate that the statement was likely watched online by millions in total.

Livestream, Hulu, and YouTube all streamed the event live, with the latter promoting it on its homepage and widely followed Twitter account. The event was also carried on all of the major TV networks, further contributing to the buzz across social media sites.

Ustream added that its social stream integration — which lets users post messages to Twitter, Facebook and MySpace while watching live video — contributed 3,300 updates to the chatter. In total, Trendrr tells us there were 93,000 tweets about the press conference in the first hour.

Tags: live video, tiger woods, ustream

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If you were waiting for the next huge online video event, this is it. Tiger Woods is set to break his silence on Friday morning with a press conference that will be broadcast live at 11 a.m. ET on Ustream, via the company’s partner CBS News.

News of Tiger’s first public appearance since admitting to transgressions back in December broke earlier this afternoon. The golfer’s agent tells the AP that the event will consist of a “small group of friends, colleagues and close associates [who will listen to Woods apologize as he talks about the past and what he plans to do next].”

With recent Ustream events attracting millions of viewers and the huge interest in the Woods story, we’re confident the press conference will draw massive numbers, too. Plus, the fact it takes place during the U.S. work day means those that can’t watch it via television will be looking for the live stream online.

Ustream’s social media integration, which broadcasts chat messages to Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, will likely drive even more audience to the stream as viewers react to Tiger’s statement.

Tags: live video, sports, tiger woods, ustream, web video

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Ustream is launching a pay-per-view live video service. With it, entertainers and other public figures will be able to charge for virtual admission to live shows and premium content.

Comedian Dane Cook will be the first act to use Ustream’s new platform. He’ll do a Miami-based pay-per-view presentation of his “ISolated INcident” stand-up routine live at 6:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, February 6. To watch, you’ll have to buy a ticket for $5 at Ustream’s ticket sales site.

That price includes more than just the performance, and that’s how Ustream hopes to distinguish this service from what you get from your cable or satellite TV provider. You’ll be able to participate in fan chats before and after the concert, ask Dane Cook questions, see the opening acts, and experience some backstage access content. We’re not sure what all the deets are on that last bullet point, but Ustream says this will all add up to five hours of entertainment.

Obviously Ustream hopes to sign some big acts to do other events in the future. The service has been home to a lot of groundbreaking live video events over the past several months, including coverage of New Year’s Eve and the Avatar premiere, among other things. The success of this plan will depend on what kinds of things viewers will get to watch. If the content is good, people will pay. If it’s not, they won’t.

It’s not the first to do this pay-per-view thing, though; justin.tv deployed something similar this month, charging a minimum of $1 per view and taking a 30% cut.

Tags: celebrities, dane cook, live video, News, pay per view, ustream

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If you were one of the million-plus viewers who tuned in during 2008 to watch the adorable antics of this famous litter of puppies, you’re in luck: The second wave of pups — from the original mother — has arrived. Get ready for cute overload.

The first round of pups became a viral sensation after their San Francisco owners set up a webcam to monitor their movements while at work, streaming footage of the puppies live via Ustream. The cam was set up at the beginning of October, and by October 13, three million viewers had spent 1.2 million hours taking in the doggie drama. Hell, the cam even won the People’s Voice Webby Award. It was a veritable phenomenon, feeding off of people’s proclivity for adorable creatures.

Sadly, around Christmas, all the puppies — save one — were adopted, leaving us with a gaping void where our heart of hearts used to be.

Well, canine lovers can now rejoice, because it appears as though as of today, the dogs are back and cuter than ever. Behold:

Free TV : Ustream

Tags: humor, live video, Shiba Inu Puppies, ustream, video, viral video

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Happy New Year!

While half the world still can’t quite say those words yet, we want to get you into the celebrating spirit. Last year, we provided eight great ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve online, including tweeting out the new year and watching videos of celebrations past.

On this New Year’s Eve, we’ve decided to turn to live video, one of the fastest-growing social media markets in 2009. Hulu, Ustream, Livestream and others are using the power of the web to bring the dropping of the ball and the fireworks of Madeira to your computer screens (in fact, we highlighted some of Ustream’s New Year streams in a previous post).

If you’re looking for a unique way to ring in the new year, turn to these five live streams. Have them playing while you celebrate or hook them up to the TV and share it with all of your friends.

We wish you a happy (and safe) New Year. Here are our five favorite live streams:

1. Hulu’s Times Square 2010 Stream

2. Madeira, Portugal New Year’s Fireworks Show

The Madeira island’s Funchal Harbor Fireworks hold the world record for largest fireworks display. Do you need any more reason to tune in? Start watching at 6:00 p.m. EST:

3. Livestream’s Times Square 2010 Live

4. Trey Songz New Year’s Eve

Popular R&B/hip-hop singer Trey Songz has decided to spend the New Year with his fans with a Ustream show for those of us on the west coast. More than 9,000 people have RSVP’d to watch, with plenty more likely to join the stream.

5. CBS News New Year’s Live Stream

CBS will be covering the festivities, and their Ustream channel will have it all:

Tags: New Year, ustream, video, web video

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This post is part of Mashable’s Fab Five series with Jalen Rose, which highlights trends in the social media space. Jalen Rose is a former 13-year NBA star and current ESPN basketball analyst but may be best known for being a member of the famous University of Michigan Fab Five.

As I look back at the journey that has led me to this point in my life, I have to say that I’ve been blessed to be a part of some pretty amazing situations. At times, I wish I could have had access to social media, so that I could have shared my experiences with the world. There are many, but here are five such moments.

1. South by Southwestern: Ustream

The legendary Coach Perry Watson led my Detroit Southwestern high school basketball team to a national championship my junior year. Our “up in your face, run and jump game” earned us a #1 national ranking by USA Today, and I may be the only athlete that can say he had two high school teammates who also went pro. The three of us (Howard Eisley, Voshon Leonard, and myself) each put in over ten years in the NBA. Playing in the Detroit Public School League gave us a frenzy filled gym that was always packed with die hard knowledgeable fans.

Ustream, a platform that allows users to video broadcast for an audience, would have been great to have on the infamous yellow team bus as we left the opposing hostile arenas. Fans would have been able to see just how much camaraderie the greatest high school team in Michigan shared. Even the chance to upload video from my Flip cam or off my phone to sites like YouTube, alone would have given the fans an inside look they would never have forgotten.

2. Fab Five Forever: Twitter

Ah, 1991-1992. This historic season captured the moment when the members of the Fab Five (Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King, Chris Webber, and myself), who were college freshman at the University of Michigan, started against Notre Dame. Not only was this the first time a starting line-up consisted of all freshmen, but we took the world by storm in our baggy shorts, black socks and black shoes; a cultural phenomenon still in place today. The five of us scored every one of our team’s points during that nationally televised game. The intensity of this game was portrayed as “good vs. evil” and the announcers vilified us every chance they had.

If I was able, I would have definitely sent a tweet to the world before I left the locker room to let them know we were about to go down in history as the first group of all freshmen to start a game at UM and to make sure they didn’t miss it. I am a huge fan of Twitter and I think if it were available back then, the culture of basketball could have reached even more fans worldwide! We all would have been tweeting all the time, trying to spread our legacy.

3. Motown Style: Twitter, Facebook

In 1994, I was drafted in the first round by the Denver Nuggets.

As I prepared for the big day, it would have been great to have the capability to use Twitpic as I shopped for my draft suit. I would have used Twitter as well as Facebook to get opinions from my fans on which suit to wear on the big day I had dreamt about for years. Many people think my red pinstriped suit is one of the greatest draft suits of all time — as you look back at it, just remember it was 1994 and the style was definitely different back then. It’s a draft day classic that reappears every year leading up to and on NBA draft day.

4. The Bottom of the Barrel: Ustream

If only I could have used Ustream when I was traded, it would have been nice to officially say goodbye to my loyal fans who didn’t want to see me move on to another team. Some of the fans would have probably enjoyed being able to reach out to me to say goodbye as well.

Getting traded is quite an experience. Twice in my career, I was traded to the league’s last place team. After playing for the Pacers for six and a half years, I had to leave a team that had the best overall record in the NBA for the team with the worst – the Chicago Bulls. The same scenario occurred when I was traded from the Raptors to the Knicks, and what made this day unique was that the two teams were playing each other that night. I woke up a Raptor and ended up sitting on the Knicks bench a few hours later. I packed a few things during the day, and after the game, I had to get on their plane with my new team and head to New York. Even though I was on the wrong bench, the Raptors fans still gave me a standing ovation. Those were the kind of fans I wish I would have been able to reach out to on a personal level through Ustream.

5. Best of Both Worlds

Most people don’t realize that I began my media career during the NBA Finals in 2001, even though I didn’t retire until 2007. I was simultaneously playing basketball and broadcasting after my season came to an end each post-season. While I was still in the league, I was fortunate to be able to cover numerous sporting and entertainment events on media outlets such as TNT, ABC, and Fox Sports.

It would have really changed the game if I could have also involved social media back then. I’m a multimedia junkie now and would have definitely reached out through ALL social media outlets as well. The scoops that I could have delivered would have probably intrigued an even wider audience.

Looking back, I wonder how we did it without social media! Social media has truly given celebrities, entertainers, and athletes the ability to reach out to their fans across the world.

More sports resources from Mashable:

- 5 Predictions for Athletes on Social Media in 2010
- 5 Most Memorable Sports Tweets of 2009
- 5 Best YouTube Sports Moments of 2009
- 5 Social Media Athletes to be Thankful For
- 5 Athletes Who Would Have Been Social Media Mavens

Images via Sports Illustrated and TIME.

Tags: fab five, jalen rose, social media, sports

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Want to check out New Year’s Eve coverage on your mobile phone or computer? You’re in luck; Ustream is ringing in the new year with live video streams of New Year’s Eve celebrations across the globe.

This year, you can watch the famous ball drop live in New York’s Times Square courtesy of the CBS News channel, catch a live stream of the Funchal Harbor fireworks (Guinness Book of World Records record-holder for the largest fireworks display) off the coast of Portugal on the Madeira channel starting at 6 p.m. EST or watch the Junkanoo Cultural Festival live at the Bahamas in the wee hours on January 1.

Ustream is also boasting a few more video stream events tied to the new year. R&B artist Trey Songz will be hosting a fan chat in the early evening on his channel. Chris Prillio will also be hosting his annual live event at 10 p.m. EST — Subservient Chris — to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. There’s also a star-studded red carpet event replete with glitz and glamor at the exclusive Omphoy in Palm Beach that you can watch live.

The selection of New Years Eve streams available on Ustream is quite impressive. This year you might enjoy ringing in the new year remotely via Ustream more than you normally would if you were to tune in to coverage on your TV set.

image courtesy of iStockphoto, jenjen42

Tags: new years eve, social media, ustream

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