I Feel Heard: The Rise of Live Video

It’s taken more than a year for live video to finally have my attention. I needed a lot of convincing, and the launch of Facebook Live convinced me.

So what does live video mean to a 21-year-old millennial like myself?

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Live video, as a concept, is both old and new. Something that used to be special to broadcast news media has been made available to everyone (just as YouTube democratized video media). And even YouTube has gotten into the business of being live: its live streaming feature is a popular favorite with companies and organizations everywhere.

Image: Periscope

Between March and August 2015, Periscope had over 10 million daily users. But within my social circles, Periscope was practically unknown. I never heard my friends talk about Periscope and I never saw them use it. At a time when we all have the ability to edit and filter a perfect version of ourselves on Instagram, broadcasting live brings with it an expectation to “look perfect,” something difficult to achieve unless a person goes to great lengths to be camera ready.

I ended up downloading Periscope and trying it for a day. I still remember the first live broadcast I watched: it was a Broadway actor taking viewers backstage at his theater. It was fun but I wasn’t totally impressed. I gave it a few minutes, quickly got bored, and closed the app before leaving it indefinitely dormant on my phone. I didn’t even consider the option of broadcasting live myself.

At this point, two factors stand out as to why it didn’t work for me:

1. Because it was a new app, there was little to no audience to reach. I would be broadcasting to random strangers (if anyone discovered me at all).
2. What would I broadcast? With live video, there are only a few scenarios in which I would broadcast from my personal account—say I had specific content to share (e.g. I’m a tech reviewer), or I liked to vlog, or if I attended a birthday party and wanted to share the events live with my relatives from across the country.

We’ll return to these two points in a bit, but one interesting note: Twitter has always verged on the side of point #2. Many of my friends swear off of Twitter to this very day because they simply don’t know what to “tweet.” Would they be giving a minute-by-minute play of their day? What sandwich they just ate? What shoes they’re wearing?

It was clear that Twitter had a very particular purpose, a niche that earned the attention of companies, brands, and organizations that realized the medium was a great resource to communicate updates, post headlines, and interact with customers.

Similarly, I think there’s a vast opportunity for these same entities to do the same with live video, and then some. 

So why is Facebook Live different from Periscope? What in particular about this launch of live video instantly sold me?

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Going live on the air

Video: CBS Los Angeles

A few days ago, I had a live video pop up on my Facebook feed. It came from a local news anchor in the Los Angeles area named Leyna Nguyen, a journalist whom I have admiration for (not least that she is one of the most prominent Asian American broadcast journalists here in Southern California). I had already “Liked” her Facebook page, so the video was pushed to my feed.

This was not Nguyen’s first live video on Facebook. It seemed that she had been broadcasting live for quite some time now, usually taking her viewers behind-the-scenes at the newsroom and giving her viewers a glimpse of the shenanigans that go on at the anchor desk between takes.

And so I watched. There were about 100 other viewers who were watching with me. Every once in a while, when Nguyen was not on air, she would turn to the camera and start flipping through the comments which were being posted in real time. She would say “hello” to fans who greeted her, answer a person’s question, or simply read off names of the people who commented. Not a minute later, she would turn back to the news camera and deliver her lines before returning to the live video. Sometimes, she would even hold up a piece of paper displaying her teleprompter lines for us to read along as she delivered them live on TV.

I took a chance and made my first comment. “Thank you for taking us behind the scenes at the newsroom!” I said. I waited in anticipation to see if she would see my comment—sure enough, she looked straight at the camera and said, “Thank you Calvin, glad you enjoy it!" 

In that moment—as insignificant as it was—I felt heard. I felt appreciated. I felt like my small gesture was returned back a million times over.

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Live video opens up an unprecedented dimension of interaction.

Image: Facebook / Stylecaster

We’ve all heard the age-old idea of instant gratification, and live video is yet another medium that Millennials can use to satisfy their self-indulgence by having their favorite celebrity, personality, or brand personally respond to them in front of hundreds of other people. 

I return now to the two points I made earlier.

1. Facebook presents a product that feels different because it has something that Periscope doesn’t: an established base of users. If I had to choose between Facebook or Periscope to do a live broadcast, the former is an easy choice if I want to be seen by my friends and family who are undoubtedly already familiar with Facebook, especially from a user experience standpoint. Brands looking to broadcast on Periscope have to do the hard labor of earning their audience all over again.
2. With this sort of audience on hand, Millennial users feel an enormous sense of agency, which makes it compelling to start broadcasting about the things they are passionate about. Young poets can perform a spoken word piece and get instant support, musicians and bands can play music to a “live” audience (with popping “Like” thumbs replacing applause), and student activists can champion a cause while earning the attention of their peers in real time. The best part of all? Because it’s all live, there’s no time-consuming video editing involved (students value all the time they can save!).

That said, credit should be given where credit is due. Periscope helped pioneer the presence of live video on social media and it’s easy to see the features of Facebook Live taking direct inspiration from its competition. As they always say, imitation is the best form of flattery (only in this case, the imitator may be running away with all the glory).

Soon, BuzzFeed will be live broadcasting a game show on its Facebook page. Over at the E! Network, a special daily program is airing just for the Facebook Live platform. More and more brands and organizations will begin holding live Q&As and product demonstrations. With each and every comment and reaction, a live video gets bumped up even more on feeds everywhere, furthering the potential for viral marketing. 

And we’re only just beginning.

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Calvin Lam is a graduating senior at UCLA studying Communications and Cognitive Science. Follow @calvinqlam on Twitter or Instagram.

#StudentVoices