May 26, 2016
Continuing its foray to crush its competitors in the live video market, Facebook has made another enhancement to its Live Video feature. The platform recently rolled out a visual and interactive map that allows users to snoop-in on and discover live video content, from around the world. Before the recent update, users could find live content via notifications from those they already followed.
The feature isn’t a surprise move for Facebook to make, since Periscope has a very similar feature, which pinpoints the geographic location of live broadcasts as they’re taking place. The difference is that Facebook’s Live Map is available on desktop, and importantly, its live video content has the potential to reach to an audience of 1.65 billion users.
Facebook’s Product Management Director, Fidji Simo wrote in a recent press release. “The Facebook Live Map gives you a window into what’s happening in the world right now.”
Navigating the map is incredibly simple. Dotted around a world map are blue markers, representing live public broadcasts. From news outlets, brands, popular public figures, to the everyday Facebook user, the feature will make it easier to find diverse and sometimes bizarre content.
As you can see from the above illustration, trending live content highlighted on the left-hand menu. Within the map itself, broadcasts with high number of viewers, are more noticeable and are represented as blue dots, surrounded by a lighter blue halo. By hovering over a broadcast, a small screen appears, alongside current number of viewers. If viewers like what they’re seeing, the video expands into full screen upon a click, where they can also interact or pose questions with the host.
The update is a giant leap forward in the platform’s aim to connect the world, and an opportunity for brands to create more immersive experiences online – but we can’t help but think that it all a bit Truman Show-esque!