Before YouTube or even the rise of blogs, webcam sites provided a way to detail the minutiae of daily life by broadcasting a series of still images captured twenty-four hours a day. As part of its internet history series, The Awl has interviewed Rex Booth, an early internet “oversharer” who chronicled his life in San Francisco on a webcam in the mid-1990s. “The blogging and Facebook-ing, Twitter-ing, YouTube-ing... it all would have made it simpler,” says Booth, when asked about his time on the early web. “But it would not have been as unique as it was if everyone was doing it... Now everyone talks about walking their dog and eating pizza and breaking up on social media. These days it’s not as fun to be a stalker, or a exhibitionist.”
Early webcam ‘lifecaster’ Rex Booth talks about oversharing before social media
Rex Booth, whose webcam site gained popularity in the mid-1990s, talks about his days chronicling his life nonstop online before the advent of social media.
Rex Booth, whose webcam site gained popularity in the mid-1990s, talks about his days chronicling his life nonstop online before the advent of social media.
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
Most Popular
Most Popular
- Xbox overhauls its PC, web, and cloud apps with a faster design
- Anker’s new window-mounted camera monitors the outside of your home from within it
- I’ve reviewed almost every Android foldable this year — here’s how the iPhone Duo compares
- After printing 40,000 whistles, this is the 3D printer I’d buy
- The Enough Phone is made by and for people fed up with big screens
