Facebook launches Watch Party at the F8 Conference, a new feature for groups to watch videos, comment, and interact simultaneously. You can use any video on Facebook for Watch Party, whether it’s live or prerecorded. The only catch however is that the video’s privacy settings need to allow it. They hope to make video-binging fun and social rather than a passive experience.
“As we think about video on Facebook, we’re focused on creating experiences that bring people closer together and inspire human connection instead of passive consumption,” says Fidji Simo, Vice President of Product at Facebook.
You can start a Watch Party by firstly making a group for it. Group moderators must then choose at least one video and post it to the group. Group members can then see a Watch Party widget appear on the group page. This signals the start of a viewing party. Once in the group, the widget allows you to watch the same video as every other member.
On top of that, group members can also see the playlist of videos that has been setup. A member who makes a comment see that comment appear over the video on a mobile device. Similarly, comments appear on the right of a video for those watching on computers.
Facebook came up with Watch Party because they find live videos encouraging more social interactions compared to pre-recorded videos. “Turning pre-recorded videos into live events could help people enjoy them more,” says Facebook.
This feature comes right after Facebook announces significant changes to the News Feed. The feed changes are partially to reduce the amount of lower-quality videos people are getting.
(Source: The Verge)
