Facebook’s live video map
Facebook screenshot by Andrew Hoyle/CNET
The map on Facebook showed blue dots spread throughout the world. When users clicked them, live videos turned up.
Timothy Ballisty, a freelance meteorologist, utilized to scan the live video map throughout twisters, cyclones and snowstorms, wishing to get a look of what was taking place in genuine time. Then, Ballisty observed previously this month that the map had actually disappeared. Facebook had actually eliminated the function late in 2015, however Ballisty and other users are simply observing.
The link for the map now directs visitors to Facebook Watch, the social media network’s video center. Ballisty states that makes it harder for him to discover the live videos he’s trying to find since he needs to follow particular Facebook pages for storm chasers rather of simply searching a map.
“To take [the live map] away with no excitement was type of unexpected to me,” stated Ballisty, who resides in North Carolina. “It was a very useful feature.”
Ballisty isn’t the only user to grieve the disappearance of the tool. Users required to the social media network’s assistance online forum to ask what occurred to the live map and urge the social media network to bring it back. Some have actually hypothesized that Facebook eliminated the map since it didn’t desire users to see the atrocities being livestreamed on the social media network, a continuous issue.
The elimination of the function comes amidst growing analysis over live video’s location in society. What was when a tool for streaming ridiculous stunts or personally essential occasions has actually ended up being a website to murder, suicide and violence. In March, after the map was currently gone, a horror suspect utilized Facebook Live to stream mass shootings at 2 New Zealand mosques that left 51 individuals dead. Facebook has actually faced the concern for many years, and it stays an issue.
A Facebook spokesperson stated the business closed down the map since it wished to combine its video pages, including the live map had “low” use. The spokesperson decreased to supply data on use. Users can still discover live video in Watch and on their news feeds, she stated.
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Other social media sites, including Twitter’s Periscope and Snapchat, have maps for discovering live videos. But Facebook’s size makes it harder to police the amount of offensive content that flows through its site. About 2.38 billion people log in to Facebook every month.
YouTube, the Google-owned video sharing service that has 2 billion logged-in viewers every month, has a channel to discover live videos but doesn’t display them in a map.
“It makes sense that Facebook would pull back on things that expose it to higher risk,” said Ted Schadler, a Forrester Research analyst. Location, he said, is a “tremendously powerful piece of data” and live video can be abused by criminals, terrorists and other bad actors like it was in New Zealand.
The Facebook spokeswoman said the map wasn’t discontinued because of any safety or privacy concerns.
Facebook unveiled the live video map, which was only available on desktop, in a 2016 blog post. The map, the company said, “gives you a window into what’s happening in the world right now.”
In December, Facebook said it was trying to “unify the video experience” across the social network, but didn’t mention it was phasing out the live video map.
A live video was shown on the map if users indicated a broadcast was public and shared their location. It debuted to mixed opinions, sometimes within the same review. TrustedReviews called the live map both “impressive” and “creepy.” A Gizmodo reporter, who said she used the map to stalk strangers for six hours, called the live videos “novel, voyeuristic, fascinating garbage.”
Brin McLaughlin from California said in an email that she enjoyed using the Facebook Live map because it was a “not-too-curated glimpse into people’s broadcasts from all over the world.”
She saw a baby being born in Quebec, coverage of an eclipse from Oregon and a street fair in the Canary Islands. Nowadays, on Facebook Watch, McLaughlin said she doesn’t see the same variety of videos.
When the map disappeared months ago, the Facebook user noticed right away.
“I also absolutely understand the specific issues of liability where live feeds are concerned, and why Facebook has chosen to do it this way,” she said. “I just wish they’d still give responsible users the option of using the map.”
