Mark Zuckerberg explains how live streaming and lasers will change the world

Mark Zuckerberg knows a lot about you, including why you love to watch live streams. During his keynote at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg explained why people love live streams, and delved deeper into the complications of giving free Internet access.

Live on air

The king of social media live streamed his surprise keynote at Samsung’s MWC event on Facebook, and accumulated 150,000 concurrent viewers, which he says is “pretty similar to what you get from a successful TV show.” Zuckerberg may be bullish on the reach of live streaming, but he did admit that it will take some time before it can reach the scale of TV viewing.

Facebook began allowing live streaming last December, and according to Zuckerberg, it offers a reprieve from the pressures of social-media perfection. “As people share more and more there’s this increase in pressure to do well,” Zuckerberg explained. “That photo represents what you want in the world.” To him, live streaming succeeds for the exact opposite reasons; the main draw is the moment shared and not the person. This is what makes live streaming appealing to everyone from “public figures trying to reach with 150,000 concurrent folks or people trying to connect to friends and family in new intimate way,” Zuckerberg noted.

Internet via laser

Zuckerberg promoted Facebook’s continued mission to connect the world with multiple projects aimed at giving Internet access in deprived areas. One project he spoke enthusiastically about is a “laser comms system,” which connects users via lasers at a rate Zuckerberg promises is “12 times faster” than traditional means. As you might imagine, it’s not easy. Zuckerberg compared the precision needed to make it work to “shooting a laser pointer from California to hitting a quarter on the top of the Statue of Liberty.”

First steps in 360

It wasn’t all live streaming and laser talk for the visibly frustrated Zuckerberg as he battled mic issues and sweat while on stage. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan recently had a child, Maxima Zuckerberg, in November of last year. While Zuckerberg admitted he does not have many parenting stories to share since his daughter is only three months, he did use it as an opportunity he revealed he wishes to capture the entire scene of his child’s first steps in 360.

We may not be close to laser-guided internet, but if Zuckerberg has it his way, we’ll all be live streaming our reactions when it does happen.