What Is Facebook Live?
Although also available on desktop, these live broadcasting apps are geared towards the iOS or Android user who wants to see the world through another’s – better placed – eyes, and show their appreciation for the view.
Periscope and Meerkat were both rolled out this March, each had a similar premise but with a few crucial differences. Periscope had a strong advantage; Twitter bought it for close to $100 million early on. As a parent, Twitter is more than happy to shove the other kid off the stage to see its own pride and glory succeed, blocking Meerkat’s access to view other Twitter users on its app.
But what does Facebook’s answer to live video streaming bring to the table? Well firstly, it’s not open to any old Facebooker. Following Facebook’s usual mode of rolling out updates on an exclusive basis, Facebook Live is only available for public figures – presumably they have infinitely more fascinating lives than the rest of us. Apparently this evening’s dinner doesn’t constitute newsworthy content, who knew?
The longevity of the broadcasting content differs from Periscope and Meerkat too. Facebook Live is geared toward generating content, so if you missed The Rock’s latest live stream, you needn’t panic, it will be on his Facebook page thereafter for you. Phew.
In a similar way to Periscope, Facebook Live also lets you know if friends or other figures you follow, start watching a stream too, so you can have that community viewing experience but with the wily feeling that you’re peeking into a celeb’s private world. No gossip mag can top the immediacy of that feeling.
Periscope founders stated that the impetus for creating their live streaming app was the desire to replicate the “closest thing possible to teleportation,” an ingenious proposition. But if we really could teleport anywhere, I think Facebook Live might be the closest we’d get to our ultimate locations. Not only because they offer a celebrity host, but because Facebook have promised that those celebrities will only be streaming truly magnificent moments and scenes. So no, we won’t be seeing their dinners either.
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By Kadie Regan