Future of Live Video: 360 Live and Virtual Reality Live

Wondering what emerging technologies are coming to social media?

Curious about how to share immersive experiences with 360-degree video or virtual reality (VR)?

To explore live 360 video and VR for marketers, I interview Joel Comm.
More About This Show
The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It's designed to help busy marketers, business owners, and creators discover what works with social media marketing.

In this episode, I interview Joel Comm, a live video expert. He's the author of the books Live Video Revolution, Twitter Power 3.0, and many others. He's the co-host of The Bad Crypto Podcast, which is rising in the iTunes ranks.

Joel explains how social media marketers can take advantage of live 360-degree video and VR.

You’ll learn about consumer-friendly equipment for sharing 360 video and VR experiences.

Share your feedback, read the show notes, and get the links mentioned in this episode below.
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Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show:
Future of Live Video
What Is 360 Video?

A 360-degree video is shot with a camera that captures a 360-degree view. A 360-degree camera may have a lens on the top that captures everything all around it. Other 360-degree cameras have lenses on two sides that capture everything top to bottom, left to right, and then stitch together all the images.

A 360-degree view makes videos completely immersive. The viewer can see everything within the range of the camera, whereas traditional video is limited to wherever the camera is pointing. Because 360-degree video brings people into an experience just as if they're there, this type of video is a powerful storytelling tool.

Also, people find it empowering to control where they're looking. People can swipe around with a finger on a mobile device or click around with their mouse via desktop to look in any direction.

A live 360-degree video is broadcast through live video apps including Facebook, YouTube, and Periscope that have adopted 360-degree video.

360-degree video has all sorts of applications. Joel has seen people in the travel industry, or just traveling, using 360 live. For example, viewers can experience being in St. Mark's Square in Venice, on a surfboard on the ocean, or in a museum. They're able to look around and see what the broadcaster is experiencing. The travel realm will be a huge arena for live 360.

Travel Oregon: Mt. Bachelor 360 Video

There's a reason Mt Bachelor is a playground for all winter enthusiasts. Just take a look around.

Posted by Travel Oregon on Friday, February 3, 2017

Also, realtors use 360 video to show off homes, apartments, and business spaces to give people a virtual tour of a property that's for sale without actually going to the location. Prospective buyers can click around, look at a house, and imagine where their furniture might go. As part of a home tour, you might walk through the back door into the backyard so that the viewer can click around to see how it looks.

Last spring, Joel shared a live 360 video from the Denver Zoo. A baby giraffe was at the zoo, and people are always interested in baby giraffes. Joel shared his experience through his Insta360 Nano camera, which plugs into his iPhone and turns it into a 360-degree camera. Joel went live on Periscope, broadcasting the baby and adult giraffes. Viewers loved being able to have that experience with him.

Because viewers can look anywhere as the video plays, Joel points out interesting views by saying something like, "Look at that baby giraffe over there." To remind viewers how to look around, he'll say, "Just swipe and you can see everywhere. Swipe down to look up at the sky and swipe up to look down at the ground."

Baby Giraffe at Denver Zoo in 360 --#golive https://t.co/2VY4VwER2T
— Joel Comm (@joelcomm) April 2, 2017

Plus, live video allows you to interact with the live audience,