Live streaming refers to online streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real time to the viewer. It is often simply referred to as streaming. Live stream services encompass a wide variety of topics, from social media to video games. Platforms such as Facebook Live, Periscope, etc. include the streaming of scheduled promotions and celebrity events as well as streaming between users. Sites such as @Twitch have become popular outlets for watching people play video games, such as in eSports. User interaction via chat rooms forms a major component of live streaming. Platforms often include the ability to talk to the broadcaster or participate in conversations in chat. An extreme example of viewer interfacing is the social experiment Twitch Plays Pokémon, where viewers collaborate to complete Pokémon games by typing in commands that correspond to controller inputs.
References
- Live Streaming, on @Wikipedia
- Stream On ’22, by @Scott Galloway