Big Brother WebCam sales boost

By Ian Burley

15th August - 2001

We are a nation of closet voyeurs and exhibitionists, if that isn’t a contradiction in terms. Why? Because digital Web camera sales have been given a big boost by the reality TV series, Big Brother, according to UK electrical stores group, Dixons. According to the company sales increased by almost 40% during the two months that Big Brother 2 was aired. Interest in the products peaked during July as the popular TV show reached its conclusion.

Apparently, behind the privacy of our own homes we’re wiring up cameras to mimic the Big Brother House experience. Well, some of us are and maybe I will making a few quick visual checks around the house next time I go visiting. But the more welcome side effect of this trend is that video conferencing and online digital photography in general is being exposed to an increasing number of new users.

“The use of new technology within such a mainstream medium as television has encouraged people to be bolder in their attitude to other technological advances,” says Chris Langley, Managing Director at Dixons. “Web cams are becoming accessible to a wider audience as the cost of technology falls and the products become easier to install. There can be no doubt that high profile TV shows like Big Brother can affect consumer spending habits.”

Here are a few WebCam sites Dixons found interesting enough to include in their press release:

  • www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders - A real time birds-eye view of Albert Square
  • www.lochness.co.uk – Watch for long enough and you might see the Loch Ness Monster – or just admire the beautiful Scottish views
  • www.londonaquariam.co.uk – A very relaxing web cam showing schools of fish, and the occasional shark!
  • www.Hottoads.com   - Watch a potato shrink until it resembles a face – and predict who you think it’s going to look like!
  • www.londoneye.co.uk – See the London Eye rotate from a different perspective every 60 seconds
  • www.Moosecam.com – Why did the moose cross the road? To get caught on it’s very own web cam!
  • www.Beerlovercam.com - The only web cam to be put inside a can of beer!

    • www.dixons.co.uk - No, it’s not a WebCam, but Dixons’ home page.

    www.bigbrother.terra.com - The official Big Brother site.

    [Back to top of the page]

     

       

      DPN News service

      www.dp-now.com