Live it up
Facebook Live is taking off at breakneck speed, with the most recent development allowing deeper customization of your audience. What a time to be aLive.
For those living under a rock, the latest addition to the virtual multitool that is Facebook came in the form of a live streaming service. Facebook Live–an aspect of the social media giant that does exactly what it sounds like–has been with us for quite a few months now, which means we’re due for an update.
The prodigal update
And an update we have! Facebook Live now allows streaming to groups, events, and pages–all demographics that are selectable in the video preferences, similarly to your profile’s privacy settings. Regardless of why this wasn’t included in the initial launch, it’s here, and its potential is incredible.
For example, if you are a freelance photographer trying to stage a series of wedding shots before the event, you can create a group dedicated to your clients, stream location ideas to that group, and then read their feedback in real time. When you’re done, the video and comments are saved to your account for your later perusal.
Obviously, the applications of this service range wildly from the freelance side of the spectrum all the way to large business. Be creative!
Customize your presentation
Facebook also added the option to apply filters, add on-screen writing, and send emoji-based reactions in real time (nobody tell Snapchat, please–I hate it when my parents fight). All of these features have vast potential to do an incredible job of immersing the audience, which is the main goal of any live streaming service, and they add a quirky, Facebook-flavored accent to this otherwise-done-to-death livestream notion.
Social Darwinism
The nature of social media will continue to necessitate change, of course. Though we recognize several different entities in the social media platform medium right now–Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, etc.–it is becoming increasingly apparent that all share relatively large aspects of each other. Perhaps Facebook’s push for its live stream to catch on is rooted in a desire to stay relevant in an age of visual media; in any event, it seems likely that this fascination with capturing the moment and multimedia is here to stay, so it’ll pay dividends to familiarize yourself now.
