As more and more people get sucked in to the social media world, the next frontier for the key players in this space is to introduce live streaming capabilities as users always want to know what their friends are up to. Facebook certainly knows this and that is why the company is testing a new feature that will allow users to stream live the events they are attending to their friends who can watch at the comfort of their homes.
Facebook began testing this feature this past Friday. Facebook provided a stream of content from a music festival that took place in the US this past Friday.
Through this feature, users will be able to view public events from live events and view videos and photos sent by their friends attending the events. These can all be accessed from the Place Tips section on Facebook.
Competing With Existing Platforms
By introducing its live stream feature, Facebook will be competing with already existing platforms including Snapchat and Twitter. Facebook will have an upper hand over Snapchat in my opinion as the latter is not widely used except in developing markets.
Facebook says by launching this feature, the company is trying to help people get the feel of an event they are not attending.
Twitter Will Not Be Left Behind
Twitter is also interested in allowing its users broadcast live to their followers. The company bought Periscope back in March and is also believed to be working a new feature that will allow users to see real time events directly from Twitter.