YouTube is now going live. YouTube announced at VidCon today that it would be competing with Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter's Periscope to allow users to stream live from the YouTube app.
On its blog, YouTube acknowledged that live streaming has been a regular feature. YouTube has previously live streamed the Royal Wedding, Felix Baumgartner leaping from outerspace and more recently, the matches between the AlphaGo AI and Go world champion Lee SeDol. But now, YouTube is putting live streaming in the hands of everyday YouTube content creators through the YouTube smartphone app.
Going live for users will soon be as simple as tapping a big red button on the app, and by enabling the chat functionality; content creators can interact with their users in real time. To ensure that people actually tune in, subscribers can also be notified and asked to join in.
VentureBeat feels that YouTube joining in isn't all that surprising. YouTube's head of consumer products, Manual Bronstein, in an interview with Wired has said: "Broadly speaking, we think about YouTube being synonymous with video...live has always been a part of video, and it's actually always a very exciting part."
According to the report, what sets YouTube apart from Snapchat and Facebook is that the platform caters to celebrities, YouTubers and everyday users alike.
DigitalTrends noted that YouTube, despite not having the first-mover advantage, stands a better chance at tasting success with live streaming because it's already home to a host of content creators and brands.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing how everybody here uses these creative tools," YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki had said during her keynote address at VidCon.
However, as VentureBeat pointed out, where YouTube could potentially falter is in the lack of a social network built into its ecosystem, which is unlike the case with Facebook or Twitter.
According to YouTube's blog post, early adopters of the live streaming feature include The Young Turks, AIB, Platica Polinesia, SacconeJolys, and Alex Wassabi.
