YouTube Co-Founder launches live-streaming food platform
David Farnor | On 13, Mar 2016
From YouTube to Periscope and Twitch, there are live-streaming video platforms for almost anything you could think of these days. Last year, Sywork launched, giving artists the chance to stream their drawing and painting process to audiences around the world. Now, live-streaming has arrived at its natural home: food.
Steve Chen, Co-Founder of YouTube, and Vijay Karunamurthy, former engineering lead for YouTube, have teamed up to launch Nom, a new, interaction live video site that aims to do for food what Twitch did for games.
The site taps into the ever-popular habit of taking pictures of cuisine and posting them on the web for others to admire, allowing people to not only watch video broadcasts but also direct, produce and host their own food show – a halfway house for those who want to start their own YouTube food channel but don’t have the time, knowledge or knack to set one up from scratch.
“Nom is a place for food lovers,” explained Chen in a statement. “If you’ve ever snapped a picture of your dinner, Nom is for you. If you have a food blog and want to connect with a bigger audience, Nom is for you. If a restaurant kitchen is your office, Nom is for you.”
Live shows can be shot from a phone or desktop computer, with videos, photos and GIFs able to be shared, while two-way chat includes video questions and photos. The site also supports multiple cameras during broadcasts.
Users can also learn from their favourite chefs, brewmasters, and baristas, creating an educational community – an essential component to any successful video platform.
“Collaboration is key for us at Nom,” added Karunamurthy. “We worked with an incredible group of chefs, makers, and creators to build the site and app they would want to reach an audience live. Now any creative team can produce their own show. We’re seeing people use Nom for coffee tastings, cooking demos, and live coverage of pop-up experiences.”
Chefs and personalities launching channels on Nom include 3-star Michelin chef Corey Lee and Master Sommelier Yoon Ha of Benu in San Francisco, Pastry Chef Joanne Chang, Tim Hollingsworth of Otium in downtown Los Angeles, Hubert Keller in Las Vegas, and Michael Tusk of Quince in San Francisco.
The site will also be partnering with events to gain exposure, from a live broadcast of the James Beard Foundation’s 2016 James Beard Award Nominee announcement on Tuesday 15th March and a demonstration of the platform by Chen at SXSW on Monday 14th March.
What do you think? Does Nom have you watering at the mouth, or has you appetite for live-streaming platforms been sated?