The Future of Live Streaming – How Will it Change in the Next Few Years?

Video Streaming

Live Streaming is incredibly young and this is partly what makes it such an exciting platform. Despite only being around for a few months so far, it has already garnered a huge following and a ton of buzz across the media.

So the question is: where is it likely to go from here? How can we expect to see it grow over the next few years?

Size

Of course all three platforms are likely to grow in size exponentially over the next several years. Live streaming has certainly captured the imaginations of many people and already it’s gaining a lot of momentum.

This is only going to get faster though. For instance, when a global event occurs and is being streamed live through Periscope or Meerkat, you can bet that people are going to rush to the platform as they see the true potential. Likewise, as more and more marketers promote their channels, this will bring more users to the platform as well.

Features

An influx of users is going to require some changes in design. Specifically, this will create the need for better filtering for content and users so that people can more easily find the videos they’re looking for. What’s more, we can expect to start to see more fierce competition between the platforms which will be good news for the users and marketers using them. Expect to see features currently only on one platform to come to all of them.

Likewise, we’ll also see more new features come to the platforms. How about the ability to ‘phone in’? Or the option to download the stream as it plays or rewind it if you missed something? These are all possibilities we’ll likely see realized.

Technology

Of course technology will also improve, thereby driving forward the power of these platforms. As internet connections get faster for instance, we might start to see live previews of the footage right in the thumbnails. Likewise, an improvement in video fidelity on phones will mean better quality footage for everyone to enjoy.

What would have been very interesting would be to see how Google Glass was incorporated into streaming. This would have been the perfect hardware for a platform built around the idea of seeing the world through ‘other people’s eyes’. Virtual reality might even play a role at some point – allowing us to be truly transported to concerts and events around the world!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *