Live streaming social networking service Stickam gave away the keys to the castle this past Monday by releasing a Live API that allows users to integrate all of Stickam's live streaming services into their blogs, websites or applications. For now beta testers can take advantage of this free service for a limited time and without worrying about bandwidth costs, server and network infrastructure and Flash development since that's all covered by Stickam. The free service will eventually move to a "pay-as-you-go pricing model” which Stickam says could be less than $100/month. Here's how the StickamAPI can benefit your site: Allow members of your social network to interact face to face Add community chat rooms to your blog or forum Add live video to your OpenSocial or Facebook applications Add live interactive interviews to your job site Add a live classroom to your e-learning site You'll need to be a Stickam member to apply for an API key. See the video below for more information. Chris Albrecht of NewTeevee points out that, "Stickam’s live-streaming APIs are already being used by MTV, Logo and VH-1 for the I’m on MTV and MTV’s Soundtrack." He also added that, "despite the economic downturn, the company is in a good position and hasn’t laid anyone off (it’s actually hiring). It claims to have 3 million registered users, 3 million streams served per day, with the average session time for people watching video clocking in at 70 minutes. Because the site is monitored 24 hours a day, Stickam says it’s created a more advertising-friendly environment, allowing shows to get more sponsorships."- from Stickam Looks to Cash in on Its APIs « NewTeeVee Since this is the first streaming service to release an API this should help Stickam differeniate itself from the competition and prompt others to follow suit. Here's the full press release from the Stickam blog: Stickam.com Introduces First Live Streaming API Allows Anyone to Add Real-Time Video Technology to a Web