After 10Gbps beaming internet aircrafts, Facebook launches live video streaming for celebrity accounts

Facebook has announced its own Periscope and Meerkat today. The social media giant introduced Live, which enables public figures to share live videos from Mentions with their fans on Facebook. With Live, public figures can take fans behind the scenes, host a Q&A, share announcements, and more — all in real time. Facebook claims that athletes, musicians, politicians and other influencers already use Facebook Mentions to share and connect with their fans, and more than 900 million people are connected to public figures on Facebook.

Only a week ago, Facebook reported its second quarter earning crossing the $4B revenue mark for the first time. The company has also completed one year of mega-scale connectivity campaign internet.org. Product Manager at Facebook, Vadim Luvrusik explained Live in a blog post:

Whether you have an established fan base or want to build up your audience, Live is a new way for you to connect authentically with your fans in the moment. When you start a Live video, it will appear in News Feed for your fans to comment, like and share with their friends. People who have recently interacted with your posts will also receive a notification when you start your broadcast.

Live enables celebrities to interact directly with fans and other public figures, in real time through comments during the broadcast. They can choose to hide the comments as well. After the live broadcast is over, the video cab be published on the page as well.

1. If you’re a celebrity with a verified account reading this, here’s what you need to do to start broadcasting your live videos on Facebook:Tap on Post and then tap on the Live Video button.
2. Add a description for your broadcast and tap the Go Live button when you’re ready.
3. During your broadcast, you’ll see how many viewers you have and can respond to comments live. You can also hide comments or switch the front and back cameras of your phone.
4. End your broadcast when you’re done by tapping on the Stop button.
5. Your video is automatically saved to your Facebook Page for fans to view later. However, you can remove it at any time, just like any other post.

Shahrukh Khan introduced the twitter videos to Indian audiences a few months ago. Indian celebrities haven’t yet started on this front but looking to do it soon.

Live seems to be a new and immersive way for public figures using Mentions to share and talk with their fans on Facebook. Facebook Mentions is only available to public figures with verified Pages.

Beaming internet at 10Gb per second from the stratosphere

Just a week ago, Facebook shared some details about its high speed internet beaming device built by the Connectivity Lab team:

• Full-scale version of Aquila — the high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft which is ready for flight testing. Designed by Facebook’s aerospace team in the UK, Aquila has the wingspan of a 737 but weighs hundreds of times less, given its unique design and carbon-fiber frame. When deployed, it will be able to circle a remote region for up to 90 days, beaming connectivity down to people from an altitude of 60,000 to 90,000 feet.
• Laser communications team has designed and lab-tested a laser that can deliver data at 10 GB per second. This can target the size of a dime from more than 10 miles away. This communications system can be used to connect aircraft with each other and with the ground, making it possible to create a stratospheric network that can extend to even the remotest regions of the world.