Twitter Debuts 360-Degree Live Video With Periscope

Twitter is adding live 360-degree video streams to its service, courtesy of Periscope, according to a new blog post from the social media giant.

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The company officially rolled out support for live 360-degree video streams on Wednesday, allowing users of Twitter’s and Periscope’s apps and website to pan within a live stream simply by moving their phone around. Twitter debuted the new feature with a live stream from Periscope celebrity Alex Pettitt.

“Starting today, you can check out live, interactive 360 videos from interesting broadcasters and explore what’s happening with them,” Twitter’s Alessandro Sabatelli wrote in the blog post.

Although only available to a limited number of partners for now, it makes sense for Twitter to start deploying a tool such as this as live streaming is becoming increasingly popular on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

Twitter has been working for some time on integrating live 360-degree video as a first step towards embracing virtual reality.

The biggest challenge for 360 live will be the lack of an easy to use device like smartphone. Most 360 degree cameras available in the market are either too expensive or lack compatibility with platforms like Facebook Live and Periscope.

Recently, Twitter introduced a live streaming option directly from its native app for Android and iOS, but the ability to go live in 360 degree format will only be available from Periscope.

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