For a while now some of my friends have been asking me “why don’t I see you go Live?“. I always answered I didn’t care much for it but the truth was, I didn’t know how to go live on Facebook on android. So I did what you’re doing right now, I went ahead and did a little research. Let me share with you what I found out, hopefully you’ll be all set to go at the end.
To livestream your favorite moments on Facebook on android you’ll have to follow a few steps
• Tap the “Live” icon (it has an eye inside a camera as an icon). You’ll find the icon under “What’s on your mind?”
• Accept the permissions it requests (Facebook requires access to your camera and microphone during the duration of your livestream)
• Select your target audience (this can be set to Public, Friends, People tagged, …)
• Add a video description (this is so people get an idea what your livestream is about, it’s optional)
• Tap “Start Live Video” button and that’s it, you’re live
• At any point if you want to end your livestream simply tap on “Finish” icon (you should know the maximum duration for a livestream is 30 minutes currently. Maybe it’ll change later). After tapping on finish your livestream is paused and you have the option to either resume by tapping on cancel or letting it end.
• After ending your livestream you can choose to upload it in HD, post it to your timeline or do both.
What is Facebook Live?
Facebook Live has been around for a couple of years, it’s been five years now as my friends never cease to remind me. During these years it has made some changes to get to where it is now.
According to Wikipedia, in August 2015 Facebook began to allow users to live stream video. Streams appear on the News Feed, and users can comment on them in real-time. It is that simple. Live broadcasts are automatically saved as a video post to the streamer’s page. The feature was brought in by Facebook to offer competition to some rival services at the time such as Meerkat and Periscope.
The feature at the beginning was meant only for verified public figures through the Facebook Mentions app (which is also exclusive to these users). It wasn’t until January 2016 that Live streaming began to roll out for public use, beginning with the Facebook iOS app in the United States.
In April 2016, Facebook unveiled a live-streaming API (application program interface), aimed to allow developers to use any device, including professional video cameras and drones, to integrate with the live-video streaming platform. Facebook also updated its mobile app to provide a dedicated section for showcasing current and recent live broadcasts. To encourage people to use it, Facebook provided incentives to publishers and celebrities to perform live broadcasts, including monetary rewards.
In March 2017, Facebook extended their live-streaming support to PCs. In May, Facebook Live was updated on iOS to let two users livestream together and the following month, Facebook added support for closed captioning to live video.
At the end of 2017, Facebook Live was updated to offer support for livestreaming Facebook Messenger games.
Fun features of Facebook Live
I have been playing around with Facebook Live for a couple of days now, so let me share some of the fun features I found with you. As you’d expect, aside from being a popular tool used for connecting with so many people, Facebook Live actually has lots of features to help improve users’ experience.
• Video description
For instance, while livestreaming you have the option of making adjustments to your video description. When I initially tested Facebook Live I was in a hurry to see what it was like so I just went ahead with a pretty lame video description. It wasn’t until the livestream started that I had realized how lazy I had been with “Livestream” as a description. Throughout the duration of my livestream I changed the video description maybe 7 times (I can be very indecisive).
• Adjustable target audience
Another feature I found interesting was that some of your viewers could join in your livestream. You have the option of setting permissions in place for this, so not just anyone joins without your permission. It was fun and exciting to connect with friends like this. You also have the option to add specific viewers to your livestream.
• Visual effects
Facebook Live on android offers a variety of options when it comes to your selection of visual effects. From the effects tools (an icon of a magic wand with a star) you see a bunch of different visual effect options.
The first option (a star icon) is a collection of various effects that people have used the most. So in case you’re confused on what to pick you can head over here to get an idea of what others have found useful or think is cool.
The next option (a clock icon) contains the history of all the visual effects you have used in the past. I find this really useful whenever I’m trying to figure out the last effect I applied and liked.
The third option (a mask icon) shows you different types of effects including 3D avatars. Some can only be applied to the back camera but most work on both cameras.
The fourth option (an icon with 3 stars) allows you to change the video effects. Honestly these are the features I use the most. Personally the 3d effect and the mirror effect options are the ones I use the most because of their simplicity.
The fifth option (a frame icon) gives you the option to pick from a lot of cool and frankly amazing frame designs. I haven’t gone through them all but I’m sure you’ll definitely find something you like there.
Lastly you get the option to write text across your screen if you’re using a touch enabled device. This is different from writing a video description or comments. It appears across the screen like it was handwritten, which it was really. Frankly I don’t know when I’d like to use this but it looks cool. You can change the color of the text from a list of options, you can undo a text you have written or delete everything on your screen.
Anyway, there you have it. Aside from these features there are lots more you can pick and choose from. If you’re interested in finding out how long you have been on Facebook Live, you just need to tap on the live icon during your livestream. I haven’t really gone in depth so I can only talk about what I know. Feel free to try them out for yourself.
When to use Facebook Live
For me I find, if you own a blog or a business, Facebook Live would be a solid way for you to connect with your audience. It allows better interaction when compared to, for instance, just replying a bunch of mails received. It is also a way for you to offer feedback to questions regarding a product you are marketing if you run a business or during a seminar. There are also use cases where you can use Facebook Live to livestream an event for others who couldn’t attend or the other way around. Quite frankly we’re just scratching the surface when it comes to what’s written in this article, there are numerous ways people use Facebook Live in their day to day activities. Maybe you, after reading this article will come up with even more cool ways to enjoy this service. I do hope you are able to get started using Facebook Live and end up enjoying it, I for one did. Have an awesome day.