Facebook has revamped its streaming feature, giving its users more ways to discover, share, and interact with live video. Live in Groups allows users to broadcast to only the people in that particular group; for example, users can go live in a family group, or share a workout plan in a fitness group, for another example. They also give viewers the ability to add reactions to live videos. You can also use Events to schedule a live Q&A session.
Advertisement
Facebook (FB) is bolstering its Live streaming video platform, which should provide more space for advertising to fuel revenue growth. During replay, comments will appear as they did during the live broadcast. When a friend reacts to your live video or a live video you are watching, you will see their profile picture and a starburst before the reaction emoji they chose.
The final new feature Facebook is debuting today is a place on Facebook’s mobile app to see where people in the world are livestreaming.
Topping it all off is the ability to invite friends to your live videos, along with a number of “channels” you can tune into based on where in the world you want to watch. Facebook has dipped its toe in these waters before, letting media publishers and celebrities broadcast live video, but now anyone can do it. Using the same reactions launched in News Feed, viewers can select Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, or Angry, and the reactions animate on top of the video. Ensuring that the Live features were smooth integrated into both operating systems has been the focus of a company-wide push over the past month, according to BuzzFeed News.
Facebook unveiled a section dedicated to live broadcasts and made it simpler to search for video. Facebook doesn’t want you to use those apps because anything that causes you to leave Facebook is anathema to Zuckerberg and his ilk. Videos can be turned into black-and-white shots, like on Facebook’s Instagram, for instance, and soon users will be able to add doodles, a nod to a feature on Snapchat.
Advertisement
Gottheil added that enhancing Facebook Live could be a “big deal” for the social network by making the site stickier and generating more revenue for the company.
