The world of video/television distribution continues to change rapidly as Facebook has announced that it has started testing live videos by users. The social network indicated that the feature has already been rolled out to all iPhone users in the U.S. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company said in a blog post that it plans to roll out the feature around the world in the coming weeks. Live Video for Android is also in the works.
A new icon now appears under your status update, showing an upper body with a double halo over the head, which apparently translates to “Live Video.” Write a short description of what your audience is going to see, and start filming. You can see the names of friends who are watching, and they can comment.
These streams are also saved to a user’s Timeline just like any other video. Facebook made it clear in its quarterly earnings call on Wednesday that video will be a priority in 2016. Facebook’s move comes just after the Twitter-owned Periscope added the capability for GoPro owners to Livestream via their devices.