Well…. we have to say, it’s about time! LinkedIn finally joins the ranks of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and many other services that offer live video streaming feature sets. LinkedIn Live, announced this week, is basic in first iteration and is designed for basic broadcasts from mobile or desktop devices. LinkedIn recommends streaming “light production” events like Q&As, conferences, earnings calls, awards ceremonies, product announcements, etc. LinkedIn Live is purely focused on enabling business to broadcast to their audiences.
LinkedIn Live is nearly two-years late. The go-to-market delay is most likely to be attributed to the fact that LinkedIn was acquired by Microsoft in 2016 during a time when their online video product build out was in full swing. The acquisition required LinkedIn to adopt Microsoft technology with a rip and replace strategy that spanned across such features as maps, search and online video. This technology transition stalled the rollout of LinkedIn live. It appears the tech debt is behind them now.
LinkedIn Live is powered by Microsoft’s Azure Media Services which includes a fully baked online video platform that includes video encoding, delivery and a video player. LinkedIn Live was built with open APIs enabling 3rd party products and platforms in the video ecosystem to build connectors or add-ons. So far the ‘official’ 3rd party platforms that have integrated with LinkedIn Live are:
To learn more about LinkedIn Live log into your LinkedIn account. You can also browse live streaming software in our directory.
