Facebook launches interactive live video map, showing broadcasts from around the world

The addictive live map lets you view broadcasts from all around the world

Doug Bolton
Thursday 19 May 2016 17:30 BST
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Each dot on the map represents a different live broadcast
Each dot on the map represents a different live broadcast

Facebook has been pushing its new live video feature for a while, but now it's become easier than ever to find interesting broadcasts.

The recently-launched 'Live Map' displays all the live broadcasts going on around the world.

Each is represented by a little blue dot, and you can open the stream by clicking on it.

The most popular broadcasts are listed on the left-hand side, and if a stream has a lot of viewers, its dot will appear bigger and you can see where people are watching it from.

It's a very simple tool, but it's completely engrossing. In a few seconds of clicking around, you can watch a South Korean girl practicing the guitar, a Finnish woman strolling around a dog show, or a Chilean mariachi band playing at a wedding. There's also plenty of people sitting on their couches, looking confused.

Until now, the only way to find a live stream was to wait for one to appear on your newsfeed or in your notifications tab. The map makes everything much easier, and it's pretty addictive.

Live videos should get better as time goes on. As Mark Zuckerberg announced at Facebook's recent F8 conference, users can now be able to stream videos from regular standalone cameras, not just smartphones - meaning live drone broadcasts are just around the corner.

You can take a look at the Live Map here.

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