Facebook, online video make Obama inauguration interactive

Video of the events is even being offered to iPhone users through an application from Ustream. As TechCrunch reported, "The application will let users watch any Ustream channel, live, directly from their iPhone. And not only that, users will also see and be able to participate in the live chat around the video as well." The application sounds great, but it isn't available in Apple's App Store as of this writing, so would-be mobile video watchers might want to look elsewhere. Ed. note: The Ustream application went live Monday night, and is available for download here from the iTunes App Store. Hundreds of visitors coming to the site were treated to a rollicking two-hour piano/guitar concert from Geoff Smith.

But video's not the only medium to watch come Tuesday. Twitter users are already tweeting into a frenzy – just search for "obama" or "inauguration." Tuesday's swearing in of Obama, billed as the most photographed and filmed event of all time by a blog at the Financial Times, will generate a massive collection of digital images. Microsoft is taking a shot at making sense of them all. From the FT post:

CNN and Microsoft are collaborating to create a 3D walk-through of the inauguration using thousands of photos submitted by members of the public. Pictures from users of cell phones and digital cameras at the event will be processed by Microsoft’s photosynth engine and fused together through common details to create a 3D environment.

The resulting images will be aired on CNN and available to view here. I'm not alone in hoping the experiment turns out better than the network's creepy experiment with election night holograms.

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