Buzzfeed had a chance to interview President Obama and wanted to use Facebook's new Live Video to reach viewers. The problem was, Facebook's technology just wasn't cooperating.
It was almost a big day for Facebook, but the technology gods would have none of that. Buzzfeed and President Barack Obama came together for a live online interview with BuzzFeed's legal journalist Chris Geidner. And, of course, the meeting was to be livestreamed on both YouTube and Facebook Live Video.
The beginning of the video was supremely awkward, with the live stream starting abruptly and throwing Chris Geidner off-balance. However, as the arrival of the President was delayed, he kept up the conversation with the camera, about his recently purchased socks no less.
Unfortunately, that bit of awkwardness wasn't the end of it. The real problem is that Facebook Live froze mid stream, leaving the BuzzFeed page with only an introductory video. That problem was fixed by providing a re-directing link for the live stream on YouTube.
It was not clear why the Facebook Live froze, but it is sure to be a blow to Facebook in its battle with YouTube for the video audience domain and money from advertisements. This especially since the company has recently been trying very hard to push Live Video to the forefront. While we've contacted Facebook for a response as to why their livestream failed (and whether or not it was a server glitch on their side), we've yet to receive a response.
The video was later replayed on Facebook by BuzzFeed and this would be the first time that President Obama appeared on the channel. The Facebook video got about 250,000 views, considering the fact that each video played on Facebook for 3 seconds would be considered "viewed", while the YouTube counterpart sits pretty at 670,000.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "dnaTechLaunch, Barack Obama, Facebook, YouTube, Chris Geidner, Buzzfeed")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}