Spillcam
 | This article needs to be updated. (December 2023) |
Spillcam was a live feed of the leak site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The live footage first became available to the general public in May 2010 when BP was pressured by politicians to release the footage.
Staff of the Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming working under Rep. Ed Markey uploaded the footage to the committee website on May 19. Within twenty-four hours, a million people had viewed it.[1]
The Spillcam ceased to be operational in September 2010.[2]
Impact
[edit]The footage led lawmakers to accuse BP of misleading the public about the spill flow rate.[3] On 3 June, the number of viewable vantage points available was increased from 1 to 12.[4]
Reception
[edit]The spillcam became an Internet sensation and at times received millions of views.[5] In November 2010, "spillcam" topped the list of top words of 2010 on the Global Language Monitor's survey.[6]
Writing in the Washington Post in May 2010, journalist Hank Stuever described the feed as compulsive but depressing viewing, stating: "You might find yourself thinking of spillcam even when you're not watching it. At dinner. In the shower."[7]
In 2011, the Tribeca Festival honoured The BP Spillcam and Ed Markey in the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards.[8]
References
[edit]- ↑ Jansen, Lesa; Keilar, Brianna Keilar (April 20, 2011). "Markey: Spillcam was game-changer in BP disaster response". CNN. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "Timeline: BP oil spill". BBC News. 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2026-04-20.
- ↑ Steve Hargreaves (21 May 2010). "Lawmakers hit BP: 'Live video doesn't lie'". Cable News Network. Archived from the original on May 21, 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
- ↑ Patrik Jonsson (3 June 2010). "BP live feed 'spillcam' now offers 12 views of oil spill". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
- ↑ Ben Nuckols and Greg Bluestein (28 May 2010). "Oil spill cam becomes Internet sensation". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 November 2010.[dead link]
- ↑ RC (16 November 2010). "BP's 'spillcam' top word of 2010 with 'Hu' top name". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
- ↑ Stuever, Hank (2010-05-26). "BP's oil spillcam: A horror movie about the gulf that's deeply compelling". ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2026-08-14.
- ↑ "Be part of a paradigm shift! On Tuesday, Tribeca honors disruptive innovators from all walks of life, including Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia, David Brooks and DARPA". TribecaFilm.com. April 25, 2011. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
External links
[edit]| Events | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companies and organisations |
| ||||||||
| People |
| ||||||||
| Places | |||||||||
| Vessels |
| ||||||||
| Reactions and impact |
| ||||||||
| Other | |||||||||
 | This World Wide Web–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |