Valleywag: iJustine

You're a star! A big, big star! No, you're just crazy

Melissa Gira Grant — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:20:00 PDT

"I realized that I was and am the center, the focus of attention by millions and millions of people. My family and everyone I knew were and are actors in a script, a charade whose entire purpose is to make me the focus of the world's attention." No, it's not a new blog post by Wired cover girl Julia Allison. It's a quote from a medical patient with the newly defined Truman Show Delusion. What drives someone to believe they're the star of a reality-TV show?

"The wish for fame" is central to the disorder, says Dr. Ian Gold, who, along with his brother Joel, are turning their study of five Truman Show sufferers into the first paper on the subject. Fame-seeking, they say, "is a form of grandiosity, and the fear of threats such as surveillance can bring about paranoia," but in 2008? The idea that everywhere you go, a camera isn't far behind doesn't just make you a little bit crazy: Between San Francisco's Flickrazzi and CCTV, you might also be right. And that explains, in part, the rise of lifecasters like iJustine. If you're going to end up on camera anyway, why not make sure it's your own? Silicon Valley has always been in the business of monetizing fantasy. (Photo of lifecaster iJustine by Miss Karen)

Loopt makes sure its users never make friends again

Melissa Gira Grant — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:00:00 PDT

Letting your friends know where you are is supposed to be the point of Loopt. The location-based app for the iPhone (and for some other mobile phones no one ever talks about) would work great, too, if you still have friends after you install the thing. After people who never signed up started getting "creepy" text messages inviting them to join, actual consenting users complained back that the app had sent unsolicited texts to their entire contact lists — and ohmigod, fanboy-favorite videoblonder iJustine was one of them! So what now, blog gang? How do you make Loopt's dirty poly-polo-shirted CEO pay?

Sam Altman, Loopt's CEO and chief popped-collars officer, apologized — "Sorry, everyone. My bad". This morning, Loopt had kept the offending friend-adding feature turned off, and promised a new release that would make sifting the real friends you want to track obsessively from the chaff you just keep on your contacts' list just so caller ID can help you avoid their calls. Those Loopt pre-launch test cases must have assumed we were all way tighter than that.

(Photos by misbehave/Graham Ballantyne)

iJustine and Justin dating -- but not that Justin

Owen Thomas — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:00:00 PDT

A tipster tells us that Justine Ezarik, the diminutive videoblogger better known as iJustine, has hooked up with a guy named Justin. Not the unprepossessing and socially inept Justin Kan of Justin.tv, with whom she's often jokingly linked, but Justin Fishner-Wolfson, a venture-capital associate at Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. The two make an adorable couple, our tipster says, especially because they see eye to eye. He estimates Ezarik's height at 5'1"; Fishner-Wolfson's not much taller, as his Stanford graduation photo shows. Not that his stature matters: By dating Ezarik, he rises above thousands of jealous iJustine fanboys. Update: Ezarik denies that she and Fishner-Wolfson are an item — and claims to be 5'3". (In heels, perhaps.)

Kevin Rose's ex-girlfriend Posh Suicide eyes Mahalo Daily gig

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:40:00 PDT

A tipster tells us we're off in picking iJustine as the new host for Jason Calacanis's little-watched Mahalo Daily videoblog, previously known solely for featuring former CNET personality Veronica Belmont. "iJustine for Mahalo Daily? Really?" he writes.

She totally blew the screen test for Big Brother today. She choked, and they had her re-shoot. She may still have a shot, since the casting guys were interested in her 10k followers. Seriously though, I think she's a lost cause for Mahalo Daily.

So if iJustine's out, who's in?

Our tipster thinks Digg founder Kevin Rose's ex-girlfriend Posh Suicide of SuicideGirls has the inside track. Suicide certainly has a camera presence, but can she handle interviews? Judging from the above clip excerpted from her guest appearance on Gametrailers.com, it seems Suicide might have a hard time replacing the goofy but smart and quick-quipped Belmont. But perhaps that's not what Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis is after. Say, does that casting couch feel warm to you?

iJustine to take over Mahalo Daily?

Nicholas Carlson — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:40:00 PDT

Who will fill the hole soon-to-depart Mahalo Daily host Veronica Belmont left in Jason Calacanis's heart? He's planning an American Idol-type contest to find out. Rumors peg Pittsburgh-native Justine Ezarik, better known as iJustine, as an early favorite. Check out the clip below. In it, iJustine interviews SXSW music attendees to the shortly after SXSW interactive geeks left Austin. "Did you hear they released the iPhone SDK," she asks one music fan. "I don't know what that is" he says. "That's just letters." Good, geek-deprecating stuff. But we're still holding out for Andrew Baron.

Happy belated Easter, Valleywag readers!

Jordan Golson — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:40:00 PDT

A tipster links us to this Web 2.0 Easter Egg collection that winsome videoblogger iJustine made. I think this is pretty neat, if a little silly. We need more Web 2.0 cheerleaders — actual cheerleaders, not like Scoble. Have a look at the full collection after the jump.

(Photos by iJustine)

Allison, Asha and Rambin receive Pittsburgh private-jet pitch

Jackson West — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:00:26 PDT

A Mr. John French forwarded us a poorly punctuated invite. He seems to be extending it to the "Three Musketeers" — Julia Allison, Meghan Asha and Mary Rambin — for an all-expense paid trip to Pittsburgh and the Bahamas on the private jet of inveterate gambler Jeff Tott, who sits on Pittsburgh Financial's board of directors. Presumably they would want to explore "investment opportunities." Why not offer the getaway to Pittsburgh's own iJustine for her birthday? That seems easier. Update: And the answer is, um, no.

Happy birthday, iJustine!

Jordan Golson — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:00:23 PDT

Happy birthday, Justine Ezarik! The lifecasting blonde also known as iJustine turns 24 today. Head over to Facebook and give her a birthday poke, but good luck getting a friend request in. Like Robert Scoble, Justine has bumped up against Facebook's 5,000-friend limit. Want to send her a present? We suggest a Starbucks gift card. Not only will it get her free wireless after AT&T moves in, but you'll be hooking Justine up with her favorite drink: a triple grande nonfat no-whip 6-pump extra-hot white mocha.

At SXSW, even the cavemen are getting action

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:40:00 PDT

Wishing you were in Austin? This video won't help. In it, a caveman — some say he's a Microsoft employee — attempts to pick up fanboy favorite iJustine at a SXSW party held Monday night at Six Lounge. "I'm not into technology," he tells her. "I'm into human connection." And she doesn't even pull a Lacy-to-Arrington on him.

iJustine confession: "I was a lifecaster" -- and unfortunately, she still is

Tim Faulkner — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:40:41 PST

iJustine, the videoblogger who's almost as clever as she is blonde, flails about in an attempt to parody herself. The videoblogger mimics her viewers' invasive demands: taking her top off, poking out her eye with a fork, throwing herself under a truck. Don't bother watching — she doesn't deliver on any of it. But is she self-aware, or should we just be wary?

This time Ezarik isn't lip-synching to Randi Jayne "Yes, Mark of Facebook's sister" Zuckerberg's vocals. "I wrote, sang, shot and edited this one," she tells us. Ezarik is trying to showcase the range of skills needed to break away from the low-tech, unscripted, and unpromising format of lifecasting.

She bemoans how lifecasting is changing, as if people wanting the lifecaster to do foolish things, "begging for money and girls taking off their clothes for the cam" is a new development. Jennifer Ringley should have disproved that a decade ago.

Unfortunately for Ezarik, who got her start in lifecasting, that's always been and also will be the nature of the business. Perhaps it's really her career that she wishes would get crushed under the wheels of a truck; her viewers' eyes, poked out with a fork. In every jest, there's a grain of truth. And in every lifecast, something revealing.

iJustine to run her own show

Tim Faulkner — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:30:48 PST

As reported a couple of weeks ago, Justine Ezarik, the blonde videoblogger better known as iJustine, has opened her own website, iJustine.tv. Neither of her potential suitors, Justin.tv and Ustream.tv , appear to have won her heart outright. Ezarik's maintaining channels on both lifecasting startups, and also posting videos using Viddler and Revver. The girl knows how to keep her options open. Her latest affair is with ChannelMe.tv, a little-known .tv domain registrar, video-streaming service, and advertising platform. Unsurprisingly, ChannelMe's site now features iJustine.

Ezarik quickly rose to the top of the lifecasting niche, and now she's cashing in. That she's going with an unknown just shows how her own brand has outgrown all the services she uses. But will her old flames stay infatuated while she pumps up the competition? And is iJustine a strong enough commodity on her own to support a dedicated site? As her male counterpart Justin Kan can attest, achieving fame is no small task, but staying on top is a whole lot harder.

Can I order you a coffee, miss?

Paul Boutin — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:45:27 PST

Men get their coffee 20 seconds earlier than women who order from the same staff in the same coffee shop, according to a recent study written up in Slate. If you've ever stood behind iJustine ordering her triple grande nonfat no-whip 6-pump extra-hot white mocha, you know being on camera doesn't speed up slacker baristas one bit.

iJustine dumping Justin.tv for single life?

Tim Faulkner — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:52:02 PST

Rumor is spreading that Justine Ezarik, the blonde videoblogger better known as iJustine, is leaving Justin.tv. Ezarik, who holds the dubious distinction of being the most popular lifecaster of the moment, is currently denying that she's leaving the self-broadcasting service where she made her name. Ustream.tv, where Justine first started videoblogging before she made it big on Justin.tv, has regained the affections of the vlog hottie, or so the story goes. As is often the case when two are competing for the attention of one woman, neither suitor ever really wins.

Justine claims:

I never said I was leaving jtv.. so I'm not really sure where they got that info!

Whether or not she does leave Justin.tv for Ustream, Justine's own brand has outgrown both startups, and she knows it. Justine is launching her own self-branded site, iJustine.tv. Like any desirable young woman, Ezarik has been keeping her options open — her original Ustream page has remained active during her brief dalliance with Justin.tv, and she frequently uses Viddler to post videos to her blog. Even if iJustine returns to Ustream, she's savvy enough to know she doesn't need anyone's help. iJustine — the woman, the brand, the videoblog — is now free to flirt with whomever she wants.

Y Combinator's webcam can't touch MC Hammer

Tim Faulkner — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 10:32:18 PDT

MC Hammer's rap career may have been over more than a decade ago, but to the startup kids at Y Combinator, he'll always be a superstar. First, he awkwardly pitched Weebly's MySpace profile editor SnapLayout to lifecaster Justine Ezarik, better known as iJustine of Justin.tv. Now, Hammer has made an iminlikewithyou profile. The washed-out rapper hopes to extend his attempts to revive his career beyond being a hanger-on of startups by fighting Vanilla Ice. Only problem — he needs someone with a videocamera, and he's trolling the iminlikewithyou community for volunteers. So what does that tell us about the state of Hammer's career?

The Y Combinator guys may be acting starstruck, but maybe its MC Hammer who's playing the fanboy here. Y Combinator's coterie of entrpreneurs could easily return the favor by providing the rapper with real video services. Everyone, including MC Hammer, knows they can. Why would the startuppers reduce the Hammer to begging for volunteers — if not to subtly put him in his place?

(SnapLayout Demo Video by Dan Veltri)

Fake Steve on Justine Ezarik aka iJustine ...

Tim Faulkner — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 09:29:00 PDT

Fake Steve on Justine Ezarik aka iJustine aka the hot chick lifecaster and her new Apple logo tattoo: "I know it's wrong for us to use women's bodies to sell our products. Is it also wrong for this woman to use our products to sell her body?" [The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs]