• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, December 12, 2011

Online video has gone through numerous social permutations, from YouTube to live one-on-one and group video chat -- touted as a key feature of Google+ with its video “hangouts.” Now an Australia-based startup is bringing free, private, live online video broadcasts to the U.S. (along with other capabilities including recorded broadcasts, video chats, games, and instant messaging).

The Brisbane-based company, Kondoot, is positioning itself as a social network that allows individuals to make free, live video broadcasts of themselves using smartphones, PCs, laptops or tablets. Kondoot is also launching a paid broadcasting system which should allow celebrities, musicians, athletes, authors, and businesses to market private broadcasts to fans and customers. Kondoot also plans to introduce advertising-supported versions of some of its free products in the near future. The company is using Amazon Web Services to provide bandwidth as needed.

Launched with private funding just three months ago, Kondoot is already in use in 133 countries, according to the company, which is considering relocating its headquarters to the U.S. in 2012.

Online video consumption continues to soar, according to comScore, which found that 184.4 million Americans watched a remarkable, record-breaking 42.6 billion videos in October of this year. That works out to 53% of the U.S. population watching online videos, with 47 viewing sessions per month, on average.