This post was originally published on this site
Facebook thinks it has the answer for waning user engagement—better livestreams.
The company has a seen a drop in users in the U.S., pointing to an overall trend of decreased web traffic and a loss of consumer trust. However, the company is still pushing its live video offerings.
Facebook sees the decline in users as part of a growing dissatisfaction with social media experiences. CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised to change how Facebook operates before the Cambridge Analytica scandal forced the company to play defense on its data-use policies. Now, Facebook wants to get back to its mission of improving user experience on its platform.
[RELATED: Overcome your biggest challenges in internal comms, PR and social media]
Zombie-like passive consumption of static video is both unhealthy for viewers and undifferentiated for the tech giants that power it. That’s set Facebook on a mission to make video interactive, full of conversation with broadcasters and fellow viewers. It’s racing against Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat to become where people watch together and don’t feel like asocial slugs afterward.
That’s why Facebook today told TechCrunch that it’s acqui-hired Vidpresso, buying its seven-person team and its technology but not the company itself. The six-year-old Utah startup works with TV broadcasters and content publishers to make their online videos more interactive with on-screen social media polling and comments, graphics and live broadcasting integrated with Facebook, YouTube, Periscope and more. The goal appears to be to equip independent social media creators with the same