Everything can be happening on screens today, but people didn’t let that box in. The musicians made video clips at Zoom, with dancers choreographing their own separate squares. Public figures gave interviews at the Clubhouse, with audience members asking heated questions from their homes. Chefs, whose restaurants had closed, are offering cooking classes to the public on Twitch, preparing the same meal from miles away.
People also turned to Instagram Live, like Verzuz rap battles have become a visualization of commitments and series of interviews with influencers have made headlines. But the feature, which has been around since 2016, has always had one major limitation: you could only transmit with one other person at a time. Now, Instagram is expanding Live with Live Rooms, a feature that allows up to four people to participate in a broadcast. The company hopes that this will result in a more creative use of its platform, as it competes to hold people’s attention amid an increasing number of options.
Although Instagram Live has supported streaming for two people for years, the company says it has never been a very popular feature. Then the pandemic came, and that changed dramatically. Last February and March, the company claims to have seen 70% more views on Instagram Live than in previous months. Creators also started broadcasting live with a partner more often. Having more than one guest, however, required some juggling. When Diddy hosted a charity event on Instagram Live for healthcare professionals in April, he had to rotate celebrities like Cardi B, Tracee Ellis Ross and Michelle Obama to get in and out of second place.
“The number one most requested feature was, ‘Can I go live with a lot of people?’” Says Kristin George, product director for Instagram creators. With Live Rooms, anyone can start a live stream and then add up to three guests, who will receive a push notification inviting them to join. Each person appears in their own square, similar to a video call, but with the usual pitfalls of an Instagram stream: live comments appear on the screen, creators can use augmented reality filters and viewers can pay in the form of “badges” ”, From Instagram version of a digital tip bottle. When building the function, George says that four people looked the best before the rooms looked crowded, but it is possible that that number will increase in the future.
With Live Rooms, anyone can start a live stream and add up to three guests.
Courtesy of InstagramInstagram started testing Live Rooms several months ago in India and Indonesia, large markets that were extremely active on Instagram Live in 2020. So far, says George, she has seen creative uses of the feature. A beauty influencer invited three friends to do a tandem makeup tutorial, showing how the products worked on different face shapes and skin tones. Another breeder hosted a single-style show with a woman and two potential suitors.
These types of crossover events are not just about creative expression – they are also a growth strategy. By appearing together in a stream, creators can build each other’s audiences and cross-pollinate their networks.
For its global launch on Monday, Instagram organized a week of events to show what else the new feature can do. The schedule includes several roundtable discussions with creators, including two sessions to discuss the #BuyBlack movement, an effort to support black-owned businesses that gained more attention last summer. Another Live Room, with prominent queer creators like Alok Vaid-Menon, Basit, Travis Alabanza and Pidgeon, will raise money for the Transgender Law Center.
“I really believe that the culture of collaboration is the future,” says George. “People want to create together, even when they are separated, or perhaps especially when they are separated. What has been really interesting about what is happening on the market right now on social media is that everyone is leaning towards this trend in a different way. “