New Shindig Technology Enables Worldwide Audience to Participate in Video Chats with over Fifty Authors in Unprecedented Live Book Chat Event

NEW YORK, May 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Shindig, the large-scale video chat events platform, today announced that it will be powering a three day long, live video chat conference series from the floor of BookExpo America 2013 (May 30-June 1). Over fifty best-selling authors will be able to speak from the Shindig sound booth to an audience of readers sitting comfortably at home.

"We are thrilled to help this impressive lineup of authors to connect with their global audiences in an utterly new and dynamic way," said Steve Gottlieb, Founder and CEO of Shindig.

Utilizing Shindig's patented video chat technology, the authors will not only be interviewed but they will also be able to share the stage with selected fans to answer questions "face-to-face." In addition to being able to ask their favorite author questions, audience members will also be able to socialize with one another in private video chats. Unlike other video chat platforms that lock all participants into a single group conversation, which can only include a small number, Shindig allows thousands to participate in an infinite array of private conversations, bringing all the dynamics of physical events online.

BEA will also serve as the largest event to date for Shindig. Still in beta, the company has powered over 400 online "shindigs" over the last nine months including recent events for Bill Gates, TEDx, Guy Kawasaki, Eric Whitacre and the Virtual Choir, Michael Pollan, and Dan Ariely with the most popular of these events nearing 1000 attendees. Also hosting his second event on the platform will be Hugh Howey.

"As an author who loves to connect with readers across the globe, my one wish is that I could be everywhere at once," said Hugh Howey. "Shindig makes that happen."

"With the breakdown of the traditional book tour, Shindig meets a vital need for authors trying to connect with their audiences in exciting new ways," continued Gottlieb. "But the application of Shindig to education, media, politics and dating are equally exciting.  Our goal is nothing short of redefining the way people interact with one another online."

Authors participating in the BEA program include:
Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club), AJ Jacobs (Esquire editor, author of four NY Times Bestsellers), Dr. Ruth Westheimer (world renowned sex therapist), Hugh Howey (self-publishing guru and author of WOOL series), Sylvia Day (NY Times #1 Best-Selling Author), Rob Sheffield (Rolling Stone editor), Lauren Weisberger (author of The Devil Wears Prada), Trista Sutter (star of The Bachelorette), Jill Shalvis (NY Times Bestselling Author), Bella Andre (NY Times Best Selling Author), Jo Piazza (Executive News Director of In Touch Weekly and Life & Style), M. Leighton (NY Times Bestselling Author), Dorie Clark (Harvard Business Review and Forbes Writer), Maya Rodale (leading author of smart & sassy romance novels), Kristen Callihan (leading paranormal romance author), Sarah Maas (leading young adult fantasy author), Slash Coleman (award winning storyteller/Psychology Today blogger), Andrew Gross (NY Times Bestselling Author. Co-Author of six #1 sellers), Sarah MacLean (NY Times Bestselling Author), Caroline Linden (leading romance author), Linda Tucker (white lion conservationist, inspirational author), Abbi Glines (NY Times Bestselling Author), Jeff Korhan (small business marketing guru), John Carucci (Digital SLR Video and Filmmaking), Brandon Mull (Fablehaven fantasy series), Jenny Han (The Summer I Turned Pretty series), Siobhan Vivian, Cat Patrick, Suzanne Young, Kaiser Fung, Neal Shusterman, Victoria Strauss, Ben Galley, Orna Ross, Gordon Korman, Tracy Guzeman, Dr. Deborah Serani, Mari Mancusi, Laurie Boyle Crompton, Jessica Verdi, Samantha Shannon, Loretta Nyhan, Susan Dennard, Amy Lupold Bair, Cora Carmack, J. Lynn, David Wellington, Stephanie Bond, CJ Lyons, Tina Folsom, James Sutter, Philip Orbanes, Jean V. Naggar

To RSVP to the event, please visit http://shindig.com/event/livefrombookexpo.

About Shindig:
Created by music industry pioneer Steve Gottlieb, Shindig is a revolutionary platform for large-scale video chat events. The patented technology enables hosts to give a talk, be interviewed, or show multimedia presentations, to online audiences of thousands. Audience members can see and be seen by one another in a shared environment, and are free to engage in private video chat conversations with one another at the click of a mouse. Best of all, selected participants can be brought up to "share the stage" with presenters to ask their questions " face-to-face" before the entire gathering.  In short, the dynamics of physical events at internet scale.

Shindig events can be recorded and repurposed for follow-on use, quickly generating an invaluable video archive of new content. Past events have included video chat book tours, press conferences, crowdsourcing events, paid seminars, lead generation events, online conferences, online nightclubs, video chat listening parties, webinars and more.  

A demo reel of the platforms capabilities can be viewed here.
For more on Shindig, please visit www.shindig.com.

SOURCE Shindig