Why Facebook wants you to do videos instead to take photos – BBC World

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption “people are having access to better mobile equipment, so we wanted to include the video as a key part of Facebook, “said vice president of project management Facebook.

Want to post on Facebook an album with 148 pictures of your last trip to a beach location? Think again.

Facebook suggests you better make a video broadcast live and you can tell your friends about the name of the beach, if the surf is very strong or what you are thinking about lunch.

Those responsible for the social network, which has almost 1,600 million users worldwide, were surprised to note that the live video (Facebook Live) gained more ground every time since its launch in January this year.

Image copyright Getty

Image caption Mark Zuckerberg says that create live video moments” really personal “.

“We have seen that get comments ten times more than normal video (…) We are surprised by the reaction he has had the streaming “he told the BBC on Wednesday the vice president of product management at Facebook, will Cathcart.

the company’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, participated in a Facebook Live the same Wednesday to share news of the tool is only available on mobile devices (tablets and phones).

in the video for 16 minutes, Zuckerberg fielded questions from users who were appearing live and assured the streaming produces “ truly spontaneous and personal moments “.

From you to you

Before extending the use of the tool to all users, Facebook Live was available for accounts of celebrities, who could share their way through some red carpet with his followers on the social network.

in January , were recorded 100 million hours of video views on social network per day , according to company figures.

Image copyright Facebook

Image caption Facebook enabled this week the possibility of adding reactions with smileys to live video besides the traditional way to send written comments.

The answer was “quick and positive”

she said Will Cathcart told BBC Newsbeat. Since then, a team of the company was dedicated exclusively to improve the user experience.

from this week’s live video can also receive smilies reactions , in addition to the traditional commentaries. No new color filters, drawings above the image and can be transmitted to a group or event.

These additions keep similarity with the mobile application Snapchat increasingly popular among young people.

for Cathcart, however, has nothing to do with race but to provide a tool that fits the phones today.

“as people have better cameras on their cell , we have sought ways to make the video a central point of Facebook”.

Periscope not do the same?

the emergence of Facebook Live could become a threat to Periscope , the app specializing in streaming that developed Twitter and launched last year.

Image copyright Getty

Image caption 76% of Facebook’s revenue last year came from advertising on mobile devices like tablets and cell phones, according to company figures .

The founders of Periscope claimed last August that already had 10 million registered accounts.

A very small number compared to the number of users Facebook that could be encouraged to make live video.

“we have always responded to the tastes of our customers. for example, when we started were pictures, now we are seeing a lot of people take the streaming These are not the same videos you see on TV or Youtube “

said Will Cathcart.”. is a new social experience “, said for his part Mark Zuckerberg.