Skip to main content

Facebook uses Lollapalooza to test a new live-streaming feature

samsung gear 360 lollapalooza
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Facebook is constantly testing out new features and new approaches as it tries to stay ahead in the social media game, and it’s using the Lollapalooza music festival for its newest experiment. Photos, videos, and posts from users and artists are being curated together in a live stream that U.S. users can check in and view from anywhere.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, the new feature taps into the Place Tips functionality Facebook introduced back in January. Place Tips show you check-ins and posts from your friends at a particular location, but a regularly updated live stream and the ability to view it from anywhere haven’t been tested before. “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,” a Facebook spokeswoman told the WSJ.

If you’re a Snapchat user you’ll recognize the similarities between this Facebook experiment and the Our Story event streams that Snapchat launched last summer — again you can tap on entries from specific events or places to see an officially curated stream of photos and videos. Twitter is also rumored to be working on a new interface to group tweets from events.

Facebook says its Lollapalooza live stream differs from Snapchat’s efforts because it uses content from your friends as well as official band and artist pages. If the social network behemoth gets it right, it could become a popular way of experiencing events that you can’t get to.

Even with a new record of 1.49 billion active users, Facebook executives know they can’t afford to ignore what their competitors are doing. That’s why the company is busy getting into other markets, including virtual reality, video hosting, news publishing, and Internet drones.

[Image courtesy of Lollapalooza]

Editors' Recommendations

David Nield
Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…
When is the best time to post on Facebook?
A smartphone with the Facebook app icon on it all on a white marble background.

Knowing when to publish your Facebook posts to gain maximum exposure is important if you're trying to bring more attention to your brand or business. But figuring out the best timing can be a bit tricky as there's no real clear-cut answer that works for every Facebook page. And that's because the optimal timing for different Facebook pages will vary depending on the browsing/viewing habits of their respective audiences.

In the guide below, we'll answer a few of your questions about when to post on Facebook (generally), and we'll mention some ways to figure out the best publish times for your specific Facebook page.
Is it better to post in the morning or at night?

Read more
Snapchat’s new Dual Camera uses both front and rear cameras simultaneously
The Snapchat app store listing on a mobile device with a stylus resting on it.

Ever wanted to take a Snap using both of your phone's cameras simultaneously? You can do it now with Snapchat's latest feature.

On Monday, Snapchat announced the rollout of Dual Camera, a feature that allows Snapchatters to record content using their devices' front and rear cameras at the same time. And judging by the images Snapchat provided in their announcement, using Dual Camera results in capturing two perspectives of the same moment, often letting the person taking the Snap have more of a starring role in the moment that they're recording.

Read more
You can now use the Add Yours sticker on Reels for Facebook and Instagram
A series of three mobile screenshots on a gray background showing the new Add Yours sticker for Facebook Reels.

As of today, Facebook and IG creators have six new features they can use for their Reels content. But of the six, the most intriguing feature is support for a sticker prompt that was first used and popularized in Instagram Stories.

Meta announced via a Facebook video post that, in addition to all of its other new Reels-focused features, it would now offer support for its Add Yours sticker prompt in Reels for both Instagram and Facebook.

Read more