48-year-old Ari Kivikangas is into life-casting, which basically means he’s constantly broadcasting his day-to-day life webcam. But unlike other vloggers who try to come up with entertaining things to do and say on camera, Ari makes no effort to seem interesting. Surprisingly, that’s what draws more people to his UStream channel, because it makes him look authentic.
Ari, or ‘Cyberman’, as he has come to be known online, claims to be online 24/7, except for a few rare breaks when he’s out picking up his epilepsy medicine or spending time with a female friend. Apart from that, he films pretty much everything he does – like a self-enforced Truman Show of sorts. His viewers apparently find all of this fascinating, especially because he doesn’t seem to care what other people think of him.
“I started about four years ago,” Ari explained. “I was stuck at home for three months and had a lot of time on my hands but nothing to do, so I started doing this. I’m epileptic and I don’t work any more, so I’m always home. I’m online 24/7.”
According to Ari, his main USP is his honesty – he tells his viewers everything about himself and his life history. “I’m completely honest about everything I say. I can’t lose anything because I have no life to lose. People laugh at me, so I feel shit and life-cast myself.” And he doesn’t like watching other life-casters unless they’re into telling the truth as well. “Most are just making a big joke of it the whole time, nothing more,” he said.
Ari, who now has 125 regular viewers and over 500 fans on Facebook, said that life-casting hasn’t changed him at all as a person. Surprisingly, he described himself as a sociable guy who likes speaking to people. “I’m open and I enjoy being open,” he told VICE.
“I’m always online, on chat rooms and so on. I have my own chat room,” Ari revealed. He also spends a lot of time on YouTube watching documentaries. His favorite one is about Mark Zuckerberg, who, he confesses, is one of his heroes. “He’s a programmer and he’s great at it. What he’s done with his social network. It’s so interactive and good. And he’s so rich and I’m very poor.”
Some might argue that life-casting sounds like a waste of time, but believe it or not, it actually saved Ari’s life in February. He happened to be home alone one day when he got terribly ill. Thankfully, there was someone watching him online and they called an ambulance. Medical personnel arrived soon and administered CPR immediately.
“It’s a fact,” Ari said. “If I hadn’t had the camera on me, I would have died for sure. The doctor was of the opinion that if I had not received help, then I would be dead. I want to say thanks to those who called for help.”