Al Caudullo describes 360 live streaming for Facebook’s Weekend of Live 360, from planning a Bangkok rooftop stream to chatting with viewers worldwide.
In many ways, 360 Live Streaming that Facebook has pioneered draws parallels to the early Live TV Broadcasts of the 1950’s. The difference is the advancements that the digital age has presented us with. In my career, I have been fortunate to have participated in some historic Live Broadcast events.
I still remember the big truck and miles of cables used when I did the Pre-show Videowall for the 72nd Academy Awards or the monstrous equipment loads for the Millennium Celebration in Washington DC.
Now, I pull out my phone, attach a 360 camera, and within minutes I am Live Streaming to a potential audience of 2 Billion around the world! There are others that offer 360 Live Streaming but what separates Facebook is that, according to a Benchmark report, almost 80% of the online video audience is already tuned into the platform. The same report shows that even though they are new to the game, Facebook has already surpassed YouTube with 17% of all US internet users watching video on Facebook. And now they have set their sights squarely on the 360 Live-Streaming market.
I hadn’t given too much thought to 360 Live Streaming until Blend Media and Facebook tapped me as one of fifteen 360 Content Creators around the world to participate in the Weekend of Live 360.
But like anything, planning is crucial, scheduling my first 360 Live Streaming event from the 61st floor of the Banyan Tree Hotel at the aptly named Vertigo Moon Bar. When the time came, I popped the Insta360 Air into my Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone, and with very little setup time, I was live. Needless to say, the Insta360 Air, resembling a mini-version of BB8 from Star Wars, was a marvel. Such a small package but with the performance matching much bigger 360 cameras. Insta360 had humble beginnings. When I first saw the Kickstarter campaign for the Insta360 Air, I thought, “How can something so small and inexpensive be any good?” Wow, was I wrong! Insta360 has since become a powerhouse of 360 cameras with the Insta360 Nano, the Insta360 4K and of course, the Insta360 Pro. On August 28th the company promises to wow us with yet another groundbreaking entry into the 360 camera field.
We chatted with viewers for a little over 14 minutes and received messages from Kenya, Scotland, the UK and USA, to name a few. Reaching hundreds of thousands in that 14 minutes showed just how powerful this emerging medium could be. Of course, having Blend Media and Facebook promoting our 360 Live Stream on their Facebook pages certainly was a huge factor.
I did another four 360 Live Streams that Weekend of Live 360 including one from the back of a TukTuk driving through Bangkok. Through it all my appreciation for this startlingly easy way to communicate your story or message to the masses continued to grow with the reach and views.
But subsequent 360 Live Streams have continued to perform well above expectations, and now Facebook is adding a new feature for 360 photos and videos. Soon you’ll be able to add 360 Photos to your profile image on Facebook. If you want to see how it looks visit my page https://www.facebook.com/al.caudullo.
I have been lucky to get advance access to the new feature.
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