FogCam is the longest running webcam in the world, barring maintenance breaks and camera replacements. In 1994 it was placed in San Francisco State University as a student project of Jeff Schwartz and Dan Wong. It was nearly shut down in 2019 when the creators said they faced difficulties in maintaining the webcam. Following public outcry, the university agreed to take over its ownership, preventing its shutdown.
The webcam is stationed in the San Fransisco State University, capturing student life and San Francisco's common fog. Every 20 seconds, a low-resolution (less than 320 by 200 pixels) image is taken and uploaded to its website, with the previous image being deleted.[1] [2] The camera has been moved several times partly due to pressures from the administration. Previous locations include a student health center with a view of the road Tapia Drive, the Cafe Rosso line as a nod to the Trojan Room Coffee Pot webcam, and the ground floor of the humanities building, and the library, facing Holloway Avenue. According to Schwartz, students used FogCam for practical purposes like checking queue lengths[3] and parking spaces.
When camera replacements are made, the university opts for a dated model to stay true to its origins. However, the software has not been modified since its inception.
In September 30, 1994,[4] two then-San Francisco State University students Jeff "Webdog" Schwartz and Dan "Danno" Wong, founded FogCam in the university's Department of Instructional Technologies as part of their master's thesis.[5] They were studying for a Master's Degree in the Graduate College of Education.[6] Their initial setup involved a Connectix QuickCam connected to a Macintosh computer sourced from the campus's bookstore, and a custom software. They were inspired by the very first live webcam, which streamed pictures of the Trojan Room Coffee Pot in the University of Cambridge.
After graduation, Wong was hired for the Academic Technologies department and continued to maintain the webcam. FogCam was initially placed in the Burk Hall, and it has moved locations multiple times. In 1995, Schwartz placed a similar webcam in his residence to keep track of his two cats.
In August 2019, the creators announced the webcam would cease operating, citing a lack of scenic spots and support from the university. They explained "the university tolerates us, but they don't really endorse us and so we have to find secure locations on our own." The shutdown was planned on August 30, though the website would continue to be online "for the sake of posterity."[7] The announcement was met with public outcry, as multiple news outlets reported on the news. The official university Twitter account started the hashtag #SaveTheFogCam and few offered donations. On August 28, Schwartz agreed to transfer the webcam's ownership to the university. The Department of Academic Technologies, which as of 2022 still is Wong's workplace, now runs the webcam.
When a SFGate journalist Amanda Bartlett visited FogCam in September 20, 2022, it was stationed on the second floor of a conference room within the business building. The visiting journalist has commented that the webcam looked "humble" compared to the public outcry it received. She described it as a Logitech camera being held up by a "flexible plastic tripod".
NPR described FogCam as one of the oldest websites still operational.[8] New York Times commented FogCam "didn’t do much of anything special, which was part of its quirky charm", while noting its novelty at the time. Digital Trends compared FogCam to Lou Montulli's The Amazing Fishcam, which was also established in 1994 after FogCam.[9] Jenny Vogel wrote in Journal of the New Media Caucus that while FogCam was "unspectacular", the live nature of the media was "often more interesting or appealing than what the image itself presented".[10]