In the age of live broadcasting, websites hoping to attract new “streamers” are emerging at an alarming rate. Lifecasters wanting to find the best site to publish their daily activities look for a few main components: accessibility to viewers, an easy-to-use interface, and design capabilities. Once you filter through these options, three main websites prove to set the example.

Some prefer Justin.tv (aka JTV), founded in late 2006 and includes such features as automatic archiving of all your shows, an optional standalone broadcast agent for Macs, and a convenient bandwidth check so that you’re able to stream at the best quality possible.

Another choice is Ustream.tv that came out in early 2007. With Ustream you have features like Cohost, that allow you to do PIP with another live streamer so others can see you two (or three!) communicate, “create a poll” and also, if you decided to record a show, you have the ability to save it to your computer as a flv, wmv, mp4, or mov file.

The last popular website is called Stickam, which was created in 2004. A favorite tool of those on Stickam is the multiple video chat option that allows you to see and hear up to 6 other users in the chat. Another nice feature is the Audio and Video Mixer that allows you to broadcast any uploaded media while you’re streaming without having to download any other software (such as CamTwist or WebcamMax)

Each of these platforms have their positive and negative aspects, yet all of them include such options as manual recording of shows and sending notifications out to friends through other programs such as Twitter, AIM, and Myspace. Although Stickam remains popular in the broadcasting community, Justin and Ustream remain the most comparable. While Justin is said to have more of the look and feel of a community, it is also known to be quite “laggy”. Then again you have Ustream that has much less lag, yet supposedly uses more CPU when viewing streams.

Possibilities are endless if you choose to use all three sites, though many broadcasters like to incorporate their shows with one main page. When deciding upon your final choice, it all comes down to what kind of audience you are hoping to reach, what the topic of your shows are, and are you planning on displaying yourself as a professional… or are you just somebody wanting to make new friends? Your best bet is to try each of these sites out and make the decision for yourself