Sarah Austin - Lifecasting and much more!

Sarah Marie Austin is a Manhattan-based entrepreneur and online lifecaster who interviews tech-oriented developers and Internet personalities, both well known and obscure. The New York Times, grouping her as a central figure in the new emerging subculture of New York techie night life, described her as "the founder of Pop17, a Web site posting her video interviews with tech-world celebrities."^[1]

On Pop17, Austin offers reports and opinions on "the new cultural phenomenon of online micro-celebrity."^[2] She is also seen on Justin.tv^[3], Mogulus and Flixwagon,^[4] and YouTube displays more than 120 of her videos from various venues.^[5]

She was a tech news producer and DJ for three years at UC Berkeley’s radio station, KALX 90.7 FM.^[6] She graduated to video with Party Crashers, a D7tv series in which she was seen crashing Silicon Valley parties.^[7][8][9] She was kicked out of the TechCrunch 7 party in 2006, but the following year she was on the invite list for TechCrunch 8.^[10] For D7tv, she attended such events as the Yahoo! Christmas party and the Vegas Music Conference.^[11][12][13] Also in 2006, she appeared as an actress in the horror film Blur, directed by Nick Briscoe and released April 3, 2007.

Austin spent her childhood in Mill Valley, California, where she graduated from Tamalpais High School. In 2007. she recalled her youth:

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I was raised and went to school. My history teacher was the first to get me involved in new media because he would have us create videos as essays about history using Apple products and new media technologies. I started my career when I hosted a tech news show at UC Berkeley's radio station KALX 90.7fm. Every Friday, joined with five million people in the Bay Area. We featured new technologies, investments and products as a "tech update" in the half-hour news show. I took classes at San Francisco State University's film and broadcast departments before moving to Manhattan.^[14]

In the tradition of Paul Krassner, she sometimes combines legitimate news coverage with personal journalism and prankster activities. During the summer of 2007, she collaborated with Gizmodo videographer Richard Blakeley on a short video, "Optimus Prime Refused Service," which found a sizable audience on YouTube and other sites. Wearing an Optimus Prime helmet, she pulled into a McDonald's drive-through and placed an order but got no service. She drove off as the manager began writing down her license plate number and making a phone call. On July 27, 2007, her Optimus Prime humor was featured on ABC News.^[15][16]

more.....

Sarah Austin (right)