The pandemic has forced us to rethink how we collaborate; most of it has been moved online because it isn’t safe to do in person. Instagram wants to help out with its recently launched Live Rooms feature.
Instead of just bringing one other person into your Lives, you can now have three people joining your live-stream. The Facebook-owned company hopes you can use Live Rooms to “start a talk show, host a jam session or co-create with other artists, host more engaging Q&As or tutorials with your following, or just hang out with more of your friends.”
It’s also a new way to help creators reach new audiences as guests’ followers will be notified about these Live Rooms, too.
According to Instagram, Live Rooms can be an additional income stream. Live features like badges, which viewers can buy to show support for creators, will be available in Live Rooms. Other Instagram features, like Shopping and Live Fundraisers, will be accessible as well.
The company says it is exploring adding “more interactive tools” in the coming months, including moderator controls and audio features.
So, it’s like a video-centric Clubhouse?
We can’t help but think about the buzzy social audio app Clubhouse when we talk about Live Rooms. The format is somewhat similar, except Clubhouse allows over 10 people to speak at once in rooms that reach up to 8,000 people.
With Instagram, of course, you have to think about the production a bit since you’ll be on camera still.
But because Clubhouse is currently invite-only and available to iOS users, this might be Instagram’s chance to attract those who can’t use that app.
Instagram will roll out Live Rooms globally soon.
How it works
According to Instagram, this is what you need to do to begin a Live Room:
- Swipe left and pick the Live camera option.
- Then, add a title and tap the Rooms icon to add your guests. You’ll see people who have requested to go live with you, and you can also search for a guest to add.
- When you start a Live Room, you’ll remain at the top of the screen when you add guests.
Hosts are allowed to add the three guests at once or one by one (maybe you want to introduce surprise guests into your Live Rooms).
Instagram also addressed safety issues that might arise. If any of the active participants blocked a user, they wouldn’t be able to watch the session. Those users who have had their live access revoked because of Instagram Community Guidelines violation won’t be able to join the Live Room, too. Live hosts will also be able to report and block comments as well as apply comment filters.
Will you try out Instagram Live Rooms when it rolls out? Let us know on social media!