Live streaming

Live streaming refers to online streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real time. It is often referred to simply as streaming, however this abbreviated term is ambiguous due to the fact that 'streaming' may refer to any media delivered and played back simultaneously without requiring a completely downloaded file. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but not live streamed. Live streaming refers to online streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real time. It is often referred to simply as streaming, however this abbreviated term is ambiguous due to the fact that 'streaming' may refer to any media delivered and played back simultaneously without requiring a completely downloaded file. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but not live streamed. Live stream services encompass a wide variety of topics, from social media to video games. Platforms such as Facebook Live, Periscope, Kuaishou, and 17 include the streaming of scheduled promotions and celebrity events as well as streaming between users, as in videotelephony. Sites such as Twitch.tv have become popular outlets for watching people play video games, such as in eSports, Let's Play-style gaming, or speedrunning. User interaction via chat rooms forms a major component of live streaming. Platforms often include the ability to talk to the broadcaster or participate in conversations in chat. An extreme example of viewer interfacing is the social experiment Twitch Plays Pokémon, where viewers collaborate to complete Pokémon games by typing in commands that correspond to controller inputs. In the field of social media, the term 'live media' refers to new media that use streaming media technologies for creating networks of live multimedia shared among people, companies and organizations. Social media marketer Bryan Kramer describes live streaming as an inexpensive 'key marketing and communications tool that helps brands reach their online audience.' Users can follow their friends' live video 'shares' as well as 'shares' related to specific content or items. Live media can be shared through any Internet website or application; thus, when people browse on a specific website, they may find live media streams relevant to the content they look for. Live media can include coverage of various events such as concerts or live news coverage viewed using a web browser or apps such as Snapchat. James Harden and Trolli promoted an upcoming NBA All-Star Game through Snapchat. Many of LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner's performance art were live streamed, such as a stream of Shia LaBeouf in a theater viewing all his movies. In March 2015, Twitter launched a live streaming app called Periscope. Normally, users would see a hyperlink attached to their broadcast, directing people to a new tab. Using Periscope, videos appear live on the timeline. If the user has allowed the site to share information, others can see where the user is streaming from. During the broadcast, users can comment, talk to the broadcaster, or ask questions. Kayvon Beykpour, CEO of Periscope, and Dick Costolo and Jack Dorsey, CEOs of Twitter, all shared a common goal—to invent something that would merge both teams into one instead of as partners. The team wanted to give people more accessibility for both Twitter and Periscope. Their solution was a combination of live streaming and Twitter. Facebook introduced a video streaming service, Facebook Watch to select individuals in August 2016, and it to the public in January 2017. Facebook Live allows Facebook users to include their own 'reactions' when someone is broadcasting. YouTube was purchased by Google in 2006, and the pair subsequently announced their live streaming app. Like Periscope, users can comment on the broadcast. Unlike Periscope, live streams on YouTube can be saved and any user can access them through the app. YouTube head of product for consumers Manuel Bronstein stated that live streaming gives creators the opportunity to 'actually create a more intimate connection with their fans.' Lifestreaming, or lifecasting, involves the continuous broadcasting of daily events in one's life. Justin Kan founded Justin.tv as a website for his own continuous lifecasting, and is credited with popularizing the style. Will Partin of Rolling Stone described a life streamer as someone who 'streams several hours of his conspicuously eventful life almost every single day.'