4 ways mobile 'live-streaming' changes the game for journalists
As recently as five years ago, there would be people who would not take you seriously if you were to point a phone at them for an interview.
WORKING for a news brand that is traditionally known for its presence on TV, I always find myself split between the decisions to go for a production with a team of three or four or go solo with a smartphone in my pocket.
The quick answer is, it really depends on: a) the type of content; b) the platform; c) the objective we want to achieve.
As recently as five years ago, there would be people who would not take you seriously if you were to point a phone at them for an interview.
Naturally, I wouldn’t shoot a full hour interview on a smartphone due to obvious reasons: storage capacity and the fact that the settings on smartphone cameras are less sophisticated in comparison to, say a P2 HD camcorders or a DSLR.
However, a smartphone works perfectly as a tool to record, edit and upload short videos to the online platforms of your choice, all within an ecosystem of apps.
About a year and a half ago, live-streaming apps Periscope and Meerkat came into the picture. The ability to “live-stream” made mobile even more enticing for the newsroom. Journalists can be the first on the scene and share his or her live videos in real time.
Here’s why I think “live-streaming” apps have changed the game for journalist:
1. Real-time updates: The ease of mobile connectivity and innovative features on the social media platforms enabled reporters to deliver updates to information-hungry internet users in much faster pace than ever.
2. A great way to engage our followers where they are: Take a second and think about your behaviour pattern, mobile phones have taken a big chunk of our time either to connect or to kill time. According to ComScore US, nearly 80 percent of users’ time spent on social media is on mobile devices.
3. Augmenting news coverage: Aside from broadcasting live, we have the option to maximize the best-viewed content by editing the Facebook Live videos and offering them as stand-alone clips.
4. Constant stream of data: The number of views and engagement rate allow us to understand our audience profile and knowing that help us to plan future live-streaming sessions and even our content for the other platforms.
The only downside of live-streaming from a smartphone is the video quality. Depending on the location where you are “broadcasting live” from, the live-streaming quality would suffer should the speed of the Internet connectivity fluctuates.
It is safe to say that the concept of broadcasting interviews on a smartphone is yet to be seen as a norm among the mainstream media.
Subsequent to "live tweet", where local and international media outlets have made it a core part of news reporting, if done right, live-streaming could be yet another game-changer to news delivery.
The opportunities live-streaming bring are unprecedented. Because for the first time, we could reach and engage our audience just as an event unravels.
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