Facebook has begun testing the ability for people to share live videos on Facebook for people across the world.
The test began on Thursday with a small percentage of people in the US. And now Facebook has rolled out the live video streaming test for all its users.
Four months ago Facebook had introduced the feature for celebrities and other high-profile users, but now Facebook users can use a redesigned status menu to select "live' video.
"Live lets you show the people what you're seeing in real time — whether you're visiting a new place, cooking your favorite recipe, or just want to share some thoughts. No matter where you are, Live lets you bring your friends and family right next to you to experience what's happening together," a Facebook newsroom release said.
According to IANS, Facebook's streams display the number of live viewers, the names of friends who are watching, and real-time comments as they are written. it is similar to Meerkat or Periscope. But unlike the latter, Facebook users would be able to save videos to their timeline and can stay there unless they choose to delete them.
Now users of Facebook can capture more real-time content. 'The reasons people wanted it were quite different from celebrities," said Julie Zhou, product design director at Facebook.
A live broadcast set to "public" will generate a push notification that only goes out to a list of "close friends" -- likely a small number of people. "It was really more about inviting friends and families into special moments in people's lives," Julie Zhou said. People might broadcast from Facebook during a child's birthday party, she said, or after reaching the summit of a mountain, the IANS report said.
How to: To share live video, tap on Update Status and then select the Live Video icon. You can write a quick description and choose the audience that you want to share with before going live. During your broadcast, you'll see the number of live viewers, the names of friends who are tuning in, and a real-time stream of comments. When you end your broadcast, it will be saved on your Timeline like any other video, which you can then delete or keep for your friends to watch later.
You can discover live videos from your friends and public figures you follow right in News Feed. While watching a live video, you can tap the Subscribe button to get notified the next time the broadcaster goes live.
