Facebook Live, the live streaming service attached to the world’s largest social networking site, recently received a huge overhaul in attention after CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that users would soon be able to stream from any device.
The social network is often at the forefront of industry defining developments and there is nothing surprising about them muscling into live streaming territory. With network accessibility becoming easier and new devices facilitating it, live streaming has quickly come into prominence as a social media feature. Although it has been around in one capacity or another for a number of years now, new technology means that it no longer suffers from the restraints of its tethered predecessors. This has in turn given off the illusion that we are stepping further into the era of the instant, when in reality we were already there.
Using Facebook Live
Facebook’s recent F8 developers conference went some way to boosting Facebook Live. The service is currently primarily used by celebrities and big media companies, but this is likely to quickly expand to other users due to the social network’s new focus on it. Live streaming on Facebook Live is simple and works by choosing the streaming symbol and entering a description, the same principle as posting on a mobile app. Currently, live streaming can only last for 30 minutes at a time for normal users. The social network has provided some tips for live streaming best practice here.
A new feature that Facebook Live does have going for it is the ability to filter broadcasts to only be visible to members of certain groups or events. This gives an element of exclusivity and could be a great marketing tool for events or as a tool for collaboration.
Popular Live-Streaming Apps
Facebook’s new focus on live streaming could prove damaging to live streaming apps like Periscope which have proven more and more popular over the past year or so. While Facebook Live could prove useful in promoting awareness of live streaming technology and providing it to a larger audience through their huge global reach, it would be disappointing to see Periscope’s user base drop as a result.
As live streaming becomes more and more popular it is also changing the face of social media. To find out more, check out our past article – Is the Future of Social Media in Live Streaming?
