T-Squared: Stream a Little Stream

In case you missed it, today was the day everything changed. Well, not everything — but we did finally start livestreaming, and it's a huge step forward, we think and hope, for the way political news in Texas is reported and disseminated.

You may recall that last fall, a few months after our livestream of the legislative session made international news, we began a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to pay for mobile livestreaming equipment. We wanted to put as much of the Texas governor's race in front of as many people as possible, around the state and across the world, in real time. We also wanted the ability to give more people in more places access to our many events. Our fundraising goal was $60,000, and many of you gave so generously that we raised $86,000. Money in hand, at the end of last year we identified and acquired the best technology and started experimenting.

This morning's TribLive conversation with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was the first of many such events we'll stream live. We didn't promote it in advance — not really — because we were a bit nervous about whether it would work, no matter how many times we tested it in advance. It worked like a charm! Several hundred people logged on and watched on laptops, tablets and phones from their homes, their offices and, in at least one case we know about, on the bus. In one fell swoop, we doubled the audience for what was a serious discussion about the future of Texas. Very cool.

Once you go livestream, you never go back. Now that we know we can do this, we will, again and again. Jay Root and Alana Rocha and other Trib reporters will soon start streaming from the road. For now, next up: Debra Medina, candidate for comptroller, at TribLive on Jan. 30. See you there — or, more accurately, you'll see us.