Aggregation And Lifestreaming: What’s The Difference?
Mar 26 2008 
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Frederic of The Last Podcast as an interesting rant about aggregation not being the same thing as lifestreaming. Here’s an excerpt that sums up his frustrations pretty nicely:
Everybody seems to be hellbend on calling every new social media aggregator a “lifestreaming service”. But have you looked at the ‘everyone’ feed on FriendFeed? Nothing on there comes very close to ‘lifestreaming.’
Pretty much everything I do online goes into my FriendFeed, but that is not my life – it’s part of my life – but it’s not enough to call it ‘lifestreaming.’ I hope most of us lead lives that go at least a little bit beyond the stuff we do on the net.
Well, I think we all can agree with that, but I proposed a question to Frederic that I’d like to propose to you too: What else could you call it and what’s the difference?
What Do You Call It? iStream or Netstream?
You could continue to call it ‘aggregation’, but since quite a few people are substituting the word ‘aggregation’ for ‘lifestreaming’, what would be a better and more accurate word? Make up one if you can’t think of anything that already exists.
I vote for iStream or Netstream, maybe even linkstream.
Also, why are people confusing the two? Have you done it?
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Hmm. I think lifestreaming includes those people who stream their life live on the internet via videa. So, like the JTV and UStream people, like iJustine used to do. Some people call is livestreaming though. I don't have a name for this aggregating thing yet, but I def don't think it's lifestreaming. i don't even have any of my real life friends on these services.
I am tired of aggregation sites, really. RSS is beginning to be my worst enemy these days.
Lifestreaming is a cooler word than aggregation. And besides, many people who are heavy into twitter and blogging DO post on everything they are doing in their regular life. I get tweets that say “good night” and “good morning” and about what people are eating for lunch!
You wanted it , you got it…
http://tinyurl.com/364gke
How about Webstreaming? Lifestreaming is too easily confused with JustinTV, as Liz points out, and I agree that it doesn't quite hit the mark. And aggregation is more the purview of Socialthing, Plaxo and such.
Rachel is right. Lifestreaming is a cooler word than aggregation. Most of my friends wouldn't bother with an aggregator, but a lifestreamer, that they get. But webstreamer is more honest. And since honesty is always better i vote webstreamer.
i think that the problem stems from people wanting cool marketing sounding terms for what they are doing, and if a word has the right flavor of sounds and remotely resembles what is happening they will use it. English, like all other natural languages, is highly susceptible to great amounts of overloading of terms resulting in some degree of confusion until parties the conversation understand exactly what is meant.
i think that the problem stems from people wanting cool marketing sounding terms for what they are doing, and if a word has the right flavor of sounds and remotely resembles what is happening they will use it. English, like all other natural languages, is highly susceptible to great amounts of overloading of terms resulting in some degree of confusion until parties the conversation understand exactly what is meant.
Hmm. I think lifestreaming includes those people who stream their life live on the internet via videa. So, like the JTV and UStream people, like iJustine used to do. Some people call is livestreaming though. I don't have a name for this aggregating thing yet, but I def don't think it's lifestreaming. i don't even have any of my real life friends on these services.
I am tired of aggregation sites, really. RSS is beginning to be my worst enemy these days.
Lifestreaming is a cooler word than aggregation. And besides, many people who are heavy into twitter and blogging DO post on everything they are doing in their regular life. I get tweets that say “good night” and “good morning” and about what people are eating for lunch!
You wanted it , you got it…
http://tinyurl.com/364gke
How about Webstreaming? Lifestreaming is too easily confused with JustinTV, as Liz points out, and I agree that it doesn't quite hit the mark. And aggregation is more the purview of Socialthing, Plaxo and such.
Rachel is right. Lifestreaming is a cooler word than aggregation. Most of my friends wouldn't bother with an aggregator, but a lifestreamer, that they get. But webstreamer is more honest. And since honesty is always better i vote webstreamer.
i think that the problem stems from people wanting cool marketing sounding terms for what they are doing, and if a word has the right flavor of sounds and remotely resembles what is happening they will use it. English, like all other natural languages, is highly susceptible to great amounts of overloading of terms resulting in some degree of confusion until parties the conversation understand exactly what is meant.