Live streaming has become a huge phenomenon over the past few years, allowing people of all types to broadcast their activities with ease. Whether it’s showcasing gaming skills on Twitch or exploring their day-to-day lives with Twitter’s Periscope and Meerkat, there are plenty of ways to get caught up with it. Now, Facebook is taking a turn with the debut of a new service, but it’s not for everyone.
Popular Science has reported that the social site has launched Live, a new feature that will allow public figures to livestream their activities to their followers. For now, the service is only limited to a handful of celebrities, deemed as “public figures”.
Talking about the feature on the Facebook blog page, product manager Vadim Lavrusik explained that Live is an evolution of celebrity interactivity, a step above the Facebook Mentions section they normally use. “Live is a new and immersive way for public figures using Mentions to share and talk with their fans on Facebook,” said Lavrusik.
A number of celebrities are taking part, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, tennis player Serena Williams, Ashley Tisdale, Martha Stewart and performer Michael Buble, among others. More public figures are being added, according to the site.
With this feature, these types of folks can easily establish a bigger fan base, as well as interact directly with said fans, and keep any given videos for them to view at any time.
While it’s disappointing to some that Live hasn’t been adapted into a full-on streaming service, it could easily be testing ground for something bigger. After all, Facebook has been dabbling in video integration for the past few months now, with very good results, and this could be the next step in pushing it even further.
Meanwhile, those who fit the “Public Figures” role can stop over at Facebook Mentions and give live video streaming a try.
