justine-ezarik

Why there's no money in being a Web celebrity

Owen Thomas · 12/03/08 02:20PM

We like to watch people trying to be famous. And we're so desperate for a shred of authenticity that we'll watch just about anyone doing anything, as long as it's live and on the Internet. Hence the lifecasting phenomenon.

"I finally found what we have in common — we're attention whores"

Owen Thomas · 11/07/08 07:00PM

Hold on to that feeling! MySpace attempted to feign bubbliness last night with a Lionel Richie-headlined party at San Francisco's Old Mint. They even let in the competition: ubiquitous Facebooker Dave Morin is pictured here with iJustine, aka Justine Ezarik, the lifecasting personality, and, as commenter BowenDunlop helpfully notes, GeekSugar editor Heather Dale. Can you think of a better caption? Leave it in the comments. The best one will become the post's new headline. Yesterday's winner: Shadowlayer, for "Adidas: Run from your investors." (Photo by Brian Solis/Bub.blicio.us)

Pretty Girls Becoming Popular Online: What Does It Mean?

Hamilton Nolan · 10/21/08 11:13AM

Justine Ezarik is a pretty blond girl who calls herself "iJustine" and gets hundreds of thousands of hits on her YouTube videos of her doing completely irrelevant bullshit like shopping or telling boring stories to the camera, because of the fact that young men will generally watch pretty blond girls do anything, which then makes said girl popular, which then attracts young female viewers, who will watch popular girls do anything. Mindless lemmings drawn to reflections of our own vapid selves, we all are. For a more thoughtful exploration of this issue, let's see what former Gawker ed. Emily Gould has to say:

Loopt makes sure its users never make friends again

Melissa Gira Grant · 07/16/08 02:00PM

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?

iJustine and Justin dating — but not that Justin

Owen Thomas · 06/11/08 11:00AM

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.)

iJustine to take over Mahalo Daily?

Nicholas Carlson · 04/07/08 10:40AM

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.

Allison, Asha and Rambin receive Pittsburgh private-jet pitch

Jackson West · 03/20/08 08:00PM

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 · 03/20/08 10:00AM

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.

"VC Baby" puts "fun," "ding" in "funding"

Megan McCarthy · 12/12/07 07:44PM

While it looks like comely lifecaster Justine Ezarik, better known as iJustine, who's head over heels for her VC, she's merely lipsynching. The real siren of the piece is Randi Jayne (née Zuckerberg, and yes, she's the Facebook guy's sister) who sings the sultry lyrics. Jayne's fiancé is a VC with Shasta Ventures who served, she says, as her inspiration. Even if this clip, produced by Kevin Rose's Revision3, doesn't approach the level of popularity reached by "Valleyfreude" or the iPhone parody, it's sure to inspire at least one new Valley pickup line: "You can sit on my board anytime."

iJustine to run her own show

Tim Faulkner · 11/29/07 05:30PM

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.

iJustine dumping Justin.tv for single life?

Tim Faulkner · 11/14/07 02:52PM

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.

Michael Arrington and Om Malik skip chance to lead cult

Megan McCarthy · 11/09/07 04:24PM

GigaOm head Om Malik and TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington were supposed to lead a talk on the "Cult of Blogging" today at some blog conference in Las Vegas. Neither showed. Om, apparently called in sick, while Arrington, according to Leo Laporte, "forgot" about his commitment. The replacement? A chat with Justine Ezarik, who hosts a lifecasting videoblog under the name iJustine. For attendees who were disappointed by the switch, we offer one consolation: The comely video blogger is far, far easier on the eyes than Arrington or Malik. Hail the new cult leader! (Photo by b_d_solis)

Y Combinator's webcam can't touch MC Hammer

Tim Faulkner · 10/12/07 12:32PM

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?