Facebook Gives Live-Stream Chat Add-On to Everyone
Facebook’s live status update stream alongside CNN’s live video stream of Obama’s inauguration was a seminal event in combining the web and TV. Sure, we don’t want to make too much of a simple topical stream of comments, but it’s a start.
Since then, Facebook has worked with content creators such as the NBA, the Jonas Brothers and the DEMO Conference to enable what it’s now calling a “Live Stream Box” on their own sites and Facebook pages. Today, it’s releasing the Live Stream Box to any site using Facebook Connect.
When the box is enabled, users will be prompted to log into their Facebook accounts from a page where they want to watch a live video broadcast. They will then be able to toggle between an “everyone watching” tab, which shows all global status updates submitted by people watching through the app, as well as a “friends” tab which just shows all their friends’ updates in real time. But without any filtering for relevant keywords and the like, it seems like it will be rare for relevant and personal commentary to find its way through. It’s not every day you watch a presidential inauguration alongside literally everyone you know.
However, the Live Stream Box makes use of your social relationships in other ways. Any comment made through the app is accompanied by a tagline when it shows up in friends’ Facebook feeds, (e.g., “via Jonas Bros webchat”), enticing more people to join the live stream right as it’s happening.
Facebook says it will take “just a minute” to set up a Live Stream Box. The company suggests it can be used for concerts, speeches, sporting events, webcasts, TV shows, presentations and webinars. If content owners don’t have a live-streaming partner of their own, Ustream is already compatible, having built live event integration for the Jonas Brothers. (Ustream is not a preferred provider, says Facebook; it was just there first. Other live broadcasters are welcome to join as well.)
Live events are an optimal occasion to surface social connections. During a May 28 Jonas Brothers webcast, 1.5 million posts were made using Facebook and more than 100,000 users started watching after seeing a friend’s status message. For more on where I think this social TV stuff is going, see my lengthy feature on GigaOM Pro (subscription required).
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Ustream, il live streaming video arriva su…
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Meh, looks like an answer to what Twitter has been doing. the TwitterBox has bopped up on a variety of sites like UStream and others.
Go go gadget Tweet!
@Garg – While I don’t think that’s an accurate assessment, I do think if Facebook manages to make use of social connections rather than just a straight stream, it will have a big advantage over Twitter/Twitter developers doing chat around live video streams.
Nice article Liz. It seems like the buzz around live streaming video is increasing rampantly! I just read another article about Qik integrating with T-Mobile phones and Nokia phones. Everyone wants text content NOW, so why should it be any different with online video content? Just like Twitter is allowing users to experience real-time, live streaming video is opening up new doors for collaboration, live sporting events, and real-time communiciation.
Forget Facebook chat, go to http://www.liveonlinechat.net its free chat rooms without registration and not only busy but addictive and fun!
those other site are full of spam use fratlounge.com it is all the other site on one website.
I seen a thread on this webmaster forum today talking about Local RSS and was wondering if anyone know of any good site that have local feeds that I can use for my wordpress blog plugin wp-o-matic?
I appreciate your help. I tried the common sense way by searching google and can’t seem to find anything with any value to it and mainly I want the top rss I can find, but really one site so far.
Also, I don’t see an rss feed for this forum. Do you have a rss? If so I would like to subscribe! Your forum seems pretty cool so added ya’ to my favorites.
:)
Thanks