Hong Kong YouTubers who are seeking to better interact with followers can now stream videos live directly from their smartphones to YouTube, while making money during the process, the video-streaming platform said on Tuesday.
The launch of YouTube’s Mobile Live feature – an extension of the desktop service – comes slightly less than a year after Facebook made its mobile live-streaming feature Facebook Live available to all its users. The live-streaming trend has pioneered a new way for celebrities and influencers to interact with their followers, and also allows regular users to share their experiences in real time with friends.
YouTube believes that “video is moving to become more immersive,” said YouTube’s product manager Kurt Wilmers. “It’s moving from having a one-way conversation to having a two-way conversation with you and your viewers.”
From Tuesday, YouTube creators with over 10,000 subscribers from over 20 countries and regions - Hong Kong included - will be able to stream video in real time from the YouTube app installed in their smartphones.
A new feature called Super Chat will also be introduced, allowing fans to pay for pinned messages that will appear at the top of the video stream without the messages getting buried in the flurry of comments on the video’s feed.
Prices range from US$1 to a maximum of US$500 for the pinned Super Chat messages. The US$500 price tag pins the message to the top of the live stream for up to 5 hours, YouTube said, adding that influencers can better respond to fans and followers with this feature.