When Facebook announced its Live Video streaming functionality back in August, it was reserved for a few select celebrities.
While The Rock was able to lay the smackdown and broadcast it to the world and Michael Buble was prepping to ruin everyone’s Christmas again, regular Facebook users could only watch on… literally.
Those lucky test candidates will be able to access Live Video from the Update Status section of the app.
They’ll be able to write a description and choose the audience they want to broadcast to before going live. Once live, broadcasters will be able to see the number of viewers and see a stream comments in real time.
Those with access will be able to tune in directly from the news feed, as if they were watching a pre-recorded video. Those viewing Live Video will be able to subscribe to the broadcaster in order to be notified the next time they’re going live.
When the stream has ended, the video will remain on the timeline, just like any other.
Facebook’s expansion comes as Twitter’s Periscope continues to dominate the emerging live streaming sector.
See also: Facebook’s 360 Videos: Everything you need to know
Meanwhile, Facebook has also announced a new Collages feature, allowing users to group photos and videos together in a “scrolling, moving collage.”
“When you tap on Photo, you’ll see recent moments from your camera roll organized into collages based on when and where you took them,” the firm wrote on the Newsroom blog.
“You can edit your collage by adding, removing or re-arranging the photos and videos that you want to include. When you’re done, you can add a title to the collage before sharing.”
Collages is coming to iPhone today and Android next year.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
