Ploughing digital landscapes: How Facebook influences the evolution of live video streaming

Katharina Rein (1) , Tommaso Venturini (2)

1 King‘s College London
2 DANTE - Dynamic Networks : Temporal and Structural Capture Approach

In this article, we discuss Facebook's strategy to influence the development of a new communication format known as live video streaming. We take this case study as an example of the ways in which Web platforms operate to harness media innovations and their social uses. The case of Facebook Live illustrates exemplary how, far from developing spontaneously, media landscapes are actively shaped by the technological and financial initiatives of their more influential players. In this article, we describe how Facebook's technical infrastructure and partnership scheme influence the editorial organisation as well as the storytelling of live video streaming.

Mots clés: live video streaming; media ecologies; Facebook; media system; social media platforms; walled gardens

Domaines: Sciences de l'information et de la communication

Katharina Rein, Tommaso Venturini. Ploughing digital landscapes: How Facebook influences the evolution of live video streaming. New Media and Society, 2018, 20 (9), pp.3359-3380. ⟨10.1177/1461444817748954⟩. ⟨hal-01672284⟩