Considering the popularity of live streaming events on the likes of Twitch, Periscope (legal or otherwise) and other channels, it’s no surprise that Facebook wants to get into the swing of things.
Taking a chapter from Instagram and Twitter’s books, the social site has begun testing a new feature that allows users to join in live events from the convenience of their mobile devices, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
With it, users were able to check in on this past weekend’s Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago through Place Tips, a feature that was introduced earlier this year, enabling Facebook users to access friends’ posts and information about their current location. With it, users can check out not only live video content, but also photos and updates from various bands at the event, including the Cold War Kids and Kaskade, among others.
“This Place Tips Lollapalooza experience is just one of the many ways Facebook is trying to help people get the feel of an event when they’re not there,” said a spokeswoman for the popular social site.
This looks to compete with Snapchat’s Our Story service, as well as Twitter’s forthcoming Project Lightning. With these features, users of those sites will be able to expand experiences from events, formatting pictures and videos to single streams, along with other content. It’s obvious that Facebook wants to keep up with this, especially with its growing audience of users.
However, it plans to make Place Tips work a bit differently, as users won’t just be able to see content curated to the event, but also communications from their friends, in case they happen to be tuning in to Lollapalooza or another related event. The site says the festival was just testing ground for Place Tips, and it will continue to explore with new events and other features in the future.
