Facebook has decided to expand its live streaming feature, which could have implications for a news organizations’ social strategy. (Vicipaedianus x / Wikimedia Commons under CC license)
Last week, Facebook announced its plans to expand its live streaming feature. The social network, in a blog post, said they were testing the feature, known as Live, with a small portion of its users by iPhone.
While it is unclear when this will be made widely available to everyone, including news organizations, Facebook said it hopes to make it available to everyone soon. Originally, as the BBC reports, the feature was only available to celebrities and other high profile users.
Facebook’s decision to expand the feature comes as streaming video expands on social media platforms, most notably through Periscope and Meerkat. With these features, this will allow reporters to tell stories from specific locations they are reporting from, or allow users to submit user generated content on breaking stories to help aid reporting, after they have been vetted.
In addition, streaming video may also allow other ways for news organizations to interact with audiences, either through segments about stories or creating ways to engage audiences through discussion features. The streaming video can also be an excellent way to engage users not only through traditional platforms like television and the web, but also through their Facebook page, expanding their social outreach.
The possibilities for streaming video are endless for news organizations, and Facebook is getting on board with the roll out of Live. The question is how (and if) news organizations will end up adapting it as part of their social strategy.
Alex Veeneman, a Chicago based SPJ member and founder of SPJ Digital, is SPJ’s Community Coordinator and is a contributing blogger to the SPJ blog network on British media issues and social media’s role in the future of journalism.
Outside of SPJ, Veeneman is Long Form Editor and a contributing writer for Kettle Magazine, an online publication in the UK. You can interact with Veeneman on Twitter here.
The views expressed in this blog post unless otherwise specified are that of the author’s, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SPJ Digital community, the board and staff of the Society of Professional Journalists, or its members.
