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Facebook and ABC team up for live DNC and RNC coverage
Your options for livestreaming the Democratic and Republican national conventions just got even wider. ABC and Facebook are partnering on 24-hour live online coverage of both the DNC and RNC, whether it's speeches on the floor or protests outside. And importantly, this isn't just reusing TV programming onilne -- there will be in-depth coverage that wouldn't be practical in conventional broadcasting. Your comments and questions on Facebook will also influence the coverage.
C-SPAN will stream convention coverage on Facebook Live
Facebook inadvertently replaced C-SPAN during a Democrat sit-in on gun control, but during the Republican and Democrat national conventions, C-SPAN will stream on Facebook Live. The social network will also feature footage filmed by convention participants, delegates, politicians and the media, according to Politico. "This is the most engaged we've been at the convention and its highly correlated to the fact we have a lot of tools to offer," said Facebook Manager Crystal Patterson.
Recommended Reading: When Facebook Live replaces 911
How Facebook Live is becoming the social 911 for people who can't trust the police Salvador Rodriguez, Inc. A Facebook Live stream captured the moments after Philando Castile was shot by police in Falcon Heights, Minnesota this week. During the video, Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds explains that they were pulled over for a broken taillight. She says that he told officers that he was carrying a gun and had the required concealed carry permit. When Castile reached for his wallet, the police shot him. The incident made Facebook's livestreaming tool a social 911 at a time when tensions between law enforcement and the public are high.
Facebook says a 'glitch' briefly deleted Falcon Heights video
A Facebook Live video capturing the aftermath of a fatal police shooting briefly disappeared from Facebook after going viral on Wednesday night, and the social networking site has apologized, blaming the down time on a bug in the system. "We're very sorry that the video was temporarily inaccessible," a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch. "It was down due to a technical glitch and restored as soon as we were able to investigate." The video is now available again on Facebook, though it carries a warning reading, "Graphic video: Videos that contain graphic content can shock, offend and upset. Are you sure you want to see this?"
Facebook will start testing offline videos in India
In an attempt to avoid the dreaded buffering symbol in regions where mobile internet access is spotty or prohibitively expensive, Facebook is about to start testing a new video download feature for a group of users in India. As TechCrunch reports today, those users will be able to sync videos while on WiFi and download them to watch in the Facebook app later.
Facebook Live will be able to stream Masquerade face swaps
Facebook Live is rolling out a handful of nice update these coming weeks, starting with the ability to broadcast straight from MSQRD (Masquerade). Fidji Simo, the social network's director of product, has announced at VidCon that you'll be able to choose the audience you want to show your face-swapping shenanigans to within the app itself. For instance, you could only make a video visible to close friends rather than to everyone. You'll also be able to choose your first mask before going live and to keep changing it throughout the show.
House sit-in shows the power and potential of livestreaming
Forget the final few minutes of the NBA Finals. Forget BuzzFeed tying rubberbands around a watermelon until it exploded. Forget a woman trying on a Chewbacca mask in a car. Sure, these are all moments that have been livestreamed, sometimes to millions of viewers. But it's events like the sit-in by House Democrats that have truly shown the power and potential of live internet video.
Tumblr to launch live video with an hour of wacky streams
It seems Tumblr is planning to jump on the live video bandwagon to join Facebook, Twitter and Amazon. The blog platform has posted eight updates on a subdomain that features a logo with the words "Live Video on Tumblr," accompanied by a caption that says, "Launches Tuesday, June 21."
Facebook Live death highlights the risks of livestreaming
Facebook Live is great for capturing events as they happen. However, like any other live internet broadcast, it's becoming clear that there's also a dark side. Police have confirmed to the New York Times that Chicago man Antonio Perkins was shot to death on June 15th while he was using Facebook Live to share an otherwise normal evening. The incident isn't strictly unique (there have sadly been other incidents of livestreamed violence before), but it underscores the lack of filters for livestreaming. Unlike similar scenes on live TV, there's no one to cut away when horror occurs on-camera.
Mark Zuckerberg holds his first live Facebook Q&A on June 14th
Now that Mark Zuckerberg has talked to astronauts using Facebook Live, he's ready to talk to the Facebook community at large... and it might just be one of the biggest showcases of the streaming service to date. The social network founder will use Facebook Live to host a Q&A on June 14th at 2:30PM Eastern, and he's using comments on the announcement post to determine what he'll answer. If you've been yearning for a big new feature or have a question about Facebook's artificial intelligence efforts, you might just get your voice heard. Suffice it to say that there will likely be a lot of people watching -- it's not often that Zuckerberg gets to address the people who made his site what it is.
Blizzard deal lets you stream its games on Facebook Live
Blizzard is about to make it much, much easier to share your gaming exploits with the world. The developer has unveiled a deal with Facebook that will let you stream its games directly through Facebook Live -- you won't have to do much to broadcast your latest Overwatch marathon for your friends. There isn't a firm timeline for when this will be available, but it won't be limited to Overwatch when it arrives.
Mark Zuckerberg will use Facebook Live to chat with the ISS
Live video is all the rage for Facebook right now, and next week CEO Mark Zuckerberg will show off the feature with some help from NASA. On Wednesday, June 1st, Zuckerberg will host a 20-minute livestream with NASA astronauts Tim Kopra and Jeff Williams along with the ESA's (European Space Agency's) Tim Peake, all three of whom are currently working onboard the ISS. The trio will take questions submitted to NASA's Facebook page, which is also where the stream will be shown. Things kick off at 12:55 PM ET, so set a reminder if you want to tune in.
Go Live on Facebook's Windows 10 app
Rejoice everyone using the Facebook app on Windows 10: Now you can start a Facebook Live broadcast from your tablet or desktop. Pretty neat, right? As WinBeta notes, the update is slowly rolling out, so you might not see the "Go Live" button (screenshotted below) in the status update field just yet. Previously, this was only available via the mobile apps, but we're living in the future so anything's possible these days. Who knows, it might not be long before we see the next Chewbacca mask video.
Facebook Live will broadcast a Spanish soccer game
Facebook's ability to broadcast live video makes it great for breaking news, but perhaps its eventual aim is to become an entertainment destination in its own right. The Spanish football league has announced that it'll use the service to broadcast a European football soccer game for the first time. The game will be streamed by Grabyo, an online video company backed by luminaries of the game Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas. If you want to watch the title tussle between Atletico Madrid Feminas vs. Athletic Club in the Women's league, then head to the Facebook on Saturday at 11:45 CET.
DJI drones can start streaming live aerial videos on Facebook (update)
DJI has updated its Go app to add a feature it promised in April: the capability to stream videos over Facebook Live using compatible drones, including the latest Phantom and Inspire. Sure, you can already stream aerial footage of sprawling landscapes, events and whatever you usually cover on YouTube. But the new feature could help expose your work to even more people -- plus, Facebook's probably the best venue to show your videos to your parents and grandparents. Android users will have to wait a bit for the update to go live, but iOS users can update their apps and access the feature right now (or in the near future). In case you'd rather stream via Twitter, though, compatible DJI drones can do live broadcasts via Periscope, as well. Update: It seems Facebook Live integration isn't live for many iOS users just yet. Since our source is a press release from the company itself, we've reached out to DJI to clear things up. We've been told DJI suddenly had to delay the update's roll out. We'll let you know when we hear more. Update 2: A DJI spokesperson told us the iOS update should be out sometime tonight or tomorrow (May 25th).
Facebook Live adds nonstop, 24-hour video
As part of the social network's wider push into live video, Facebook is expanding beyond on-the-ground journalism and in-car Star Wars toy reviews. TechCrunch reports Facebook Live will now also allow for 24-hour, nonstop streaming broadcasts.
Facebook Live video replays will highlight the best moments
By now, you've certainly heard about Facebook's live video push. As the company continues to revise the live-streaming feature, new tools are being added on the regular. TechCrunch reports that the social network will soon let viewers skip straight to the good parts when replaying that footage. Based on reactions and comments, Facebook will show you when the best portions of a video take place in the form of a visual timeline.
Livestream's Mevo camera lets you edit video on the fly
Broadcasting live video is one of the biggest tech trends of the last year. It started with Meerkat, but now Facebook and Twitter (via the Periscope app) are unsurprisingly the dominant players in the space. Most of that video streaming is done using smartphones, but Livestream -- one of the first big players in the livestreaming video space -- thinks there's a market for dedicated video cameras. Enter Mevo, the company's tiny, dedicated camera for streaming video to Facebook Live.
DJI's drones will stream live video over Facebook
Now that Facebook can stream live video through virtually any device, you're going to find those live feeds coming from unusual places... including overhead. DJI is promising an update in late April that will let you stream its drones' video through Facebook Live, making it comparatively easy to share those dramatic skyline shots with your friends. The feature will work for any model that plays nicely with the DJI Go mobile app, which largely includes recent Phantom and Inspire drones. While you could stream to YouTube before, this definitely widens the playing field -- there's a better chance that more of your social circle will witness your aerial exploits.
