How to Stream Live Video on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Periscope

Live Streaming means broadcasting something on the Internet, as it happens. Until a couple of years ago, videos on the Internet were mostly recorded, edited and then uploaded to platforms like YouTube, Dailymotion, and so on. Thanks to the capable imaging and processing capabilities of today’s smartphone, live streaming has become possible for anyone. Every major social network, from Facebook, to Twitter, Instagram now allows you to broadcast yourself live, that your followers on those social networks can watch and interact with. The one that started it all - Meerkat, unfortunately shut down a few years later. But, Periscope - its competitor at the time - was acquired by Twitter and now the service is integrated within the platform.

But let's start with the basic question - why would anybody want to use live streaming? Well, there could be a multitude of reasons - maybe you’re at an interesting place or tourist destination or at an important life occasion like your marriage. Okay, seriously you shouldn’t be live streaming your marriage; maybe you can get someone else to do it. There are many creative ways that people from all walks of life are exploring with live streaming. Some are even using it to report an incident for the world to see.

So how does one go about doing this? Here’s how to get started with streaming live video on various platforms:

1) How to stream live video on YouTube

YouTube recently launched live streaming on its popular video platform, but is currently restricted only to people who have verified accounts with more than 10,000 subscribers. The company has said that it will enable this feature for everybody else with time. If you happen to qualify already, then here's how you can stream live on YouTube:

1. Open the YouTube app on your smartphone.
2. Press the camera symbol that appears on the top right side of the app if you're on an iPhone (bottom right if Android).
3. Click the 'Go Live' button.
4. Write a title that describes what your live video is going to be about and click 'Next'.
5. It will ask you to take a selfie for the video thumbnail. You can retake it if you don't like what you took before.
6. Once you're done, hit the 'Go Live' button to start the stream.
7. Click 'Finish' on the top-right once you're done.

2) How to stream live video on Facebook

Follow these steps to stream live on Facebook:

1. Open the Facebook app on your smartphone.
2. Below the What’s on your mind status update box, you’ll see a Live button.
3. Tapping it for the first time shows you a demo video of how it’s done.
4. You can either see it or click ‘Skip Intro’, after which it will ask you to describe what the video is about.
5. Next, you can tap the Friends button (you might see Public there instead), and choose who on Facebook can see the broadcast.
6. After you’ve made your choice, hit the Go Live button to start the live stream.
7. Tap on Finish once you’re done.

3) How to stream live video on Twitter

Follow these steps to stream live on Twitter:

1. Open the Twitter app on your smartphone.
2. Tap the New Tweet button. It'll be on the bottom right corner on Android, or top right corner on an iPhone.
3. Select Live.
4. Type a description to explain your followers what they’re about to see.
5. Hit the Go Live button.
6. Swipe down and hit Stop Broadcast to end the live stream when you're done.

4) How to live stream live video on Instagram

Follow these steps to stream live on Instagram:

1. Open the Instagram app on your smartphone.
2. Tap the camera symbol on the top left corner.
3. Click Live at the bottom.
4. Add a description that tells more about your live stream to your viewers.
5. Hit the Start Live Video button.
6. When you're done, tap End on the top right corner, and then click End live video to stop the stream.

5) How to live stream live video on Periscope

Although Twitter acquired Periscope and now has live streaming, you can still use the Periscope app itself to stream if you prefer. Follow these steps to stream live on Periscope:

1. Open the Periscope app on your smartphone.
2. Click the camera symbol button on the bottom right corner.
3. Add a description to your live stream. You can also choose to either make the broadcast public or to a selected group of people.
4. Tap Go Live.
5. Swipe down and hit Stop Broadcast to end the live stream.

That’s it. Hope you enjoy broadcasting yourself to the world. Let us know what you think about live streaming. Do you think it’s fun? Do you think it’s lame? Sound off via the comments below.