Tumblr has just rolled out a live video feature on its blogging platform which allows users to watch and stream live broadcasts from the site.
The company has finally entered the fray alongside other Silicon Valley giants that have already launched their own live video feature. Tumblr is expected to compete with Twitter's Periscope, Amazon's Twitch, Google's YouTube live streaming, and Facebook Live.
Tumblr's live video tool, however, is powered through other sites like YouTube, Upclose, Kanvas, and YouNow. This means that live streams can be posted on Tumblr through any of the services using iOS or Android devices. Google's YouTube is Android-only for now but iOS support is expected to arrive soon.
Company executives intend to make Tumblr a one-stop shop for live video feeds by allowing users to choose and view streamed broadcasts from whichever platform they prefer. In other words, it offers live streaming by outside platforms as another post type for its bloggers. This set-up will still direct online traffic back to the site, The Verge reported.
How Tumblr's Live Video Feature Works (via Fast Company)
To broadcast live on the blogging site, the first step is to download one of the supported external apps like YouTube, Upclose, Kanvas, or YouNow. From within each app, select Tumblr as a sharing option from the settings menu. Although the authorization process slightly varies from one service to another, the respective settings for each app should enable users to share live to Tumblr from it.
When someone goes live on Tumblr, his or her followers will receive a notification with the video pinned on top of their dashboards. Missed broadcasts are archived along with the post so they can be watched at a later time. Live streamed videos can also be shared or reblogged with followers who will receive a notification for the broadcast as well.
The recent decision to launch the live video feature is indicative of Tumblr's financial woes as it struggles to make profits for parent company Yahoo. With addition of the live video feature, Tumblr hopes to use it to boost its popularity and attract a steady stream of ad dollars. So far, the Yahoo-owned blogging subsidiary is yet to make good on its $100-million sales goal back in 2014, Tech Crunch reported.
