The world is abuzz with the news of Facebook’s live announcement this afternoon. The result? Marketing gurus and social media nerds were sent into a frenzy catapulting “Zuck” and “#facebooklive” to trend on Twitter.
The announcement was regarding the new video chat feature in partnership with Skype. A Facebook spokesperson described the new feature by saying, “Your least technical friend can use this feature.” In addition, the company launched group chat and a redesigned chat interface.
Critics wonder why Mark Zuckerberg would go as far as to describe the announcement as “something awesome” when the information about the new features were already announced on Facebook through its blog. And for that matter, why the hoopla over a live announcement, which was broadcast through livestream.com?
Here’s what really caught my attention. A representative from Mashable asked Zuckerberg about his reactions to Google+. He responded by saying that now that the technology for such applications exist, he predicts we will be seeing more of them pop up in the future. In other words, he didn’t put down Google+ but rather recognized it as an app that is simply one of many to come based on the interface that has already been invented (I presume he means invented by Facebook).
More over, going back to the trending topics, this seemingly unimpressive announcement suddenly made Facebook more talked about than Google+. So, I ask you: Was Zuckerberg’s decision to live broadcast his “awesome” announcement so silly after all? From a public relations standpoint, I’d say it was pretty damn smart.
