Instagram just rolled out its new "Live video" feature for its users in the United States. This new feature is now widely available in the country after it was originally announced by the social media platform last Nov. 21.
Instagram's live video feature works within Instagram Stories panel where friends can share almost anything from photos, videos, and texts. Stories posted are only available for 24 hours before they disappear. With live streaming, anyone can post and view video content real time.
Going Live On Instagram
Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom together with the company's CTO, Mike Krieger, announced the Instagram live debut in the United States by streaming the event live on the official page of the app. The photo-sharing app that was acquired by Facebook now offers an array of services that helped the social media platform reach a total of 500 million users by June 2016 and a whopping 1 billion downloads on Google Playstore by Aug. 2016.
Instagram live has been around for a while as the app's influencers test the live streaming function. Today, everyone in the United States can also enjoy the new live streaming capabilities within Instagram Stories. To use the function, users will have to go to the Instagram Stories panel. From today, users can choose among three options: Normal, Boomerang, and Live.
Video Dominance On Instagram
After allowing the 60-second video posts on the app, many speculated that the next move was to go live. Last June, Instagram had already dropped hints about the future of streaming live videos within the app.
"Basically video watch time, people spending time watching the video has increased 150 percent in just short months," Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom said in an interview with Bloomberg. "So what's crazy for us is that we have this moment in time when Instagram is becoming more and more video dominant, video heavy and I think that's just the sign of the times," Systrom added.
Aside from injecting fun and functionality to the photo-sharing app, Instagram introduced the live streaming feature to become a relevant media source to anyone anywhere in the world.
"It's all about knowing what's happening in the world around right now and being able to come to Instagram as a media destination, as the place to know what's happening, the visual place of the world," Systrom said.
With about 80 percent Instagram users outside the United States, it is safe to say that it would not take long for the new Instagram live feature to roll out worldwide.
