Wikipedia
Beckinfield was an ongoing science fiction web series created by actor Bob Gebert, designer Tracy Evans and company CEO Biff van Cleve. Similar to The Guild in that Beckinfield posted new entries in its series online as opposed to on television, Beckinfield was nonetheless different in that actors can participate from all over the world. The site allowed any user to join for free, similar to Facebook, although unlike Facebook, there was no advertising on the site. The site (and the series it hosted) are similar to YouTube in that users are able to upload videos, but unlike YouTube in that all the videos are part of an interconnected story.
Users of the site created characters who then related the events in the fictional town to their audiences. (The story points were given to them in weekly e-mails by Gebert.) The users (actors) could then have their characters give their opinions or perspectives on the town's events, or talk about their character's own unique story points. As such, the site billed itself as "Mass Participation TV." 1 On Mashable.com, writer Kate Freeman described it in her headline as "a YouTube Show with 4,000 Actors." 2
The actors' videos were then compiled into a weekly video entitled "Previously on Beckinfield," so that viewers could keep track of the overall storyline without having to watch hundreds of videos each week.
Beckinfield did not observe "seasons" of stories the way that most prime-time network series do, or even abbreviated seasons like those of The Guild. The format was much more open-ended, similar to the format of a daily television soap opera.
Also at the time of this writing (Feb. 17, 2012), there are 3,727 registered participants on the site, with the most recent 100 being displayed at any given time. 3
Industry professionals who are involved with Beckinfield include noted writer and story editor Marc Scott Zicree 4, casting director Scott David 5, and actor/director Jonathan Frakes 6.
In late 2011, Beckinfield founders hosted The Ultimate Online Audition Contest where actors who play characters in the fictional town audition, as their character, for a play based on founders Bradford Beckin, his daughter Becca Beckin, and others. There was a $10,000 grand prize given out and 18 $200 prizes went to finalists in the contest. Jonathan Frakes, playing yet another character called Dylan Marks, chose the winner.
Gebert moved on to other projects in May of 2013, bringing Beckinfield to a close. The final "Previously on Beckinfield" compilation was "Destiny." The parent site to Beckinfield, Theatrics.com, now hosts other online stories started by users.