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Thousands on the Internet followed the singer/songwriter's
unscheduled show in 30-second increments via still images posted
automatically by four cameras Voog put in her bedroom and
apartment. ''I didn't plan it at all,'' she says of that night, which
continues to draw fans to her site (www.anavoog.com).
Voog's Web site promotes her first album, Anavoog.com, set for
release on MCA Records. But a growing number of others with no
apparent reason are putting their uncensored lives on line as
well.
When tiny, inexpensive Internet-ready video cameras were
introduced four years ago, users aimed them at fishbowls and
coffeepots. But now they're increasingly being trained on people
— sleeping, eating and, yes, having sex.
Connectix, a San Mateo, Calif.-based manufacturer of Net cameras
starting at under $100, says 25% of PCs will have digital video
cameras by 2001, making videoconferencing part of everyday life.
It has sold more than 600,000 QuickCams. TOP
Web site designer Jennifer Ringley is perhaps the most famous of
the netcam pioneers. Her popular Jennicam site (www.jennicam.org)
has drawn intensive media attention.
''When I first started it (two years ago), I was really shy — I
would wear two nightgowns and run to the other side of the room
to get changed. But after two weeks I started doing things more
naturally.''
That includes occasional nudity and sexual activity. But Ringley
insists she's doing a public service.
''On TV, you see all these people living perfect lives with
perfect hair and perfect friends, and people start to feel
really inadequate,'' she says. ''I walk around all the time with
bad hair or stuff in my teeth. And I really think it makes
people feel better to know they're not the only ones not leading
glamorous lives.''
The Jennicam has made Ringley a minor celebrity, appearing on TV
and other mainstream media.
She also has been held up as an example of what's bad about the
Net. Leo Hindery, the president of cable giant TCI, described
her activities to shocked Roman Catholic bishops at a recent
meeting where they were considering religious uses of the Net.
Hindery said the Jennicam site has ''attracted a cult following
of voyeurs. It may sound pathetic, but people actually relate to
Jenni. They feel they know her personally — so much so that men
worldwide regard Jenni as their virtual girlfriend.''
Peter Crabb, psychology professor at Pennsylvania State
University, Abington, has studied camcorders' effects on
behavior and says that watching people on line may erode the
social taboos against staring or other voyeuristic behavior in
public. TOP
''Do we want to be turned into a society of exhibitionists?''
Crabb asks. ''Maybe we're already there, judging from Jerry
Springer.''
The need for recognition drives some people to eschew judgment
and common sense to the point where ''they will do almost
anything'' to be noticed, says Mark Goulston, a counselor
with the Time Warner Family Crisis and Counseling Line. ''One of
the problems of people who have temporary fame is if you get a
taste of being somebody and then go back to being just anybody,
it's like being nobody.''
Ringley sees no end to her camera tour, and for Voog, the Anacam
is a source of constant amusement. ''It's just so funny to me. .
. . It's like, more than the people who are watching me, I'm the
one who's actually being entertained.''
And it has become part of her life. ''If you wake up in the
middle of the night or something with an anxiety attack, it's
really nice to know people from all over the world are all
there, to comfort you or talk about anything you want. It's just
really cool.''
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