BuzzFeed's Facebook Live Interview With President Obama Suffers a Bad Streaming Failure

BuzzFeed landed the biggest "get" for a Facebook Live interview in the young channel's history by nabbing a sit-down with President Barack Obama. Yet less than two minutes into the broadcast, the online publisher's video feed stalled and some 35,000 Facebook viewers were left with nothing to watch but BuzzFeed legal editor Chris Geidner sitting alone in the White House, introducing the event. It was awkward, and BuzzFeed actually directed people—on its Facebook post—to YouTube to watch the stream after a while. Indeed, the incident allowed YouTube to flex its live-video muscle—it's been doing these things for years, after all, and Facebook is brand new to the game. Meanwhile, the Geidner-Obama interview—which was designed to focus on Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland—went well, technically speaking, on YouTube. Fifteen-thousand watched in real time throughout the online appearance by Obama. No glitches. (Scroll to watch the video below.) It's a little egg on the face for Facebook, which launched Facebook Live in early April and immediately captured the imaginations of video marketers everywhere. In fact, on April 8, BuzzFeed had a huge success, getting 800,000 people at once to watch two staffers via Facebook Live explode a watermelon by wrapping rubber bands around it. Today's production wasn't as tight, to say the least. That said, Facebook's scale—with 1.6 billion monthly users—will keep media companies and marketers glued to the social network... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'

[ AdWeek | 2016-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #huge success #media companies #tv producer

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WATCH: Obamas score blockbuster book deal

Penguin Random House obtained the rights to the memoirs of Barack and Michelle Obama. Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2017-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Adds Book Recommendation Bots to Facebook Messenger

The publisher is using artificial intelligence to turn Facebook Messenger into an interactive book recommendation engine. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital TV Players Eye Blockchain to Block Facebook, Google

Advertisers and publishers could get help from Bitcoin technology.The idea of using blockchain to handle digital ad transactions is starting to seep into the conversation among advertisers, digital publishers and ad tech vendors. Blockchain is the technology behind Bitcoin; it supports the... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2017-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook is inserting ads midway through videos

Facebook's ambitions for video have been pretty explicit. And now the social network is (officially) introducing a way for its publishing partners to get paid for them. Rather than front-loading ads the way YouTube and so many others do, these will a... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook wants longer videos, but takes away key view metric

Facebook has replaced a key metric it made available on Facebook Insights, which allows publishers and other page owners to track video performance on the platform. The post Facebook wants longer videos, but takes away key view metric appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #post facebook #longer videos #page owners


Inside Facebook’s recent product pitch to publishers

On Friday, Feb. 17, Facebook invited more than 20 media partners to its New York office to discuss the company’s plans for video monetization and distribution. The post Inside Facebook’s recent product pitch to publishers appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Best of the week: Facebook’s publisher charm offensive

Facebook's message to media: We care, we really care. The post Best of the week: Facebook’s publisher charm offensive appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What publishers admire about the Google-Facebook duopoly

"Facebook and Google understand the users' needs. They have all the data, they know how to read it and integrate it into products like AMP and Instant Articles." The post What publishers admire about the Google-Facebook duopoly appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Trade Division Bright Spot in Bad Year for HMH

Sales in Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's trade division rose 0.7% in 2016 over 2015, but revenue for the entire company fell 3% and its net loss jumped. Company executives promised to cut costs in 2017. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Melville House Partners with Indie Bookseller on Obama Book

The indie publisher, working with the Harvard Bookstore, will release a book of the farewell speeches of the former President and First Lady on March 28. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Breaking Bad's Krysten Ritter pens psychological thriller for Hutchinson

Actress, producer, and writer Krysten Ritter is publishing a debut psychological suspense novel, Bonfire, with Hutchinson this year. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obama Book Deals Getting Close

Book proposals from former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama are making the rounds among the Big Five trade publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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George Saunders, "Quite Possibly" Colbert's Favorite Living Author, Comes to the Late Show

On the 'Late Show,' George Saunders gets ribbed about writing a novel, explains what a "bardo" is, and discusses kindness and Donald Trump in support of his debut novel, 'Lincoln in the Bardo.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shedding Perfect and Getting Real: Books on Living Faithfully

Teachings from the Bible and other spiritual practices can be used to combat the pressures of a Pinterest-perfect society, according to a slew of books coming from religion publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Facebook-led coalition to fight fake news, French publishers face resource strain

This week Facebook revealed it has partnered with eight French media companies to fact-check and filter news articles that have been flagged by its users. The news follows a similar effort started by news coalition led by First Draft News. French publishers have welcomed the efforts but admit... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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French to fight fake news with backing from Google, Facebook

News organizations operating in France will open up a new fact-checking service, CrossCheck, at the end of this month. Their initial focus will be on covering the forthcoming French elections, but with a number of international organizations participating, the project's reach could... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2017-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook must pay $500 million in damages in Oculus intellectual property case

Facebook is on the hook for $500 million in damages after losing an intellectual property lawsuit Wednesday to ZeniMax Media over its virtual reality headset, the Oculus Rift. ZeniMax, a video game publisher, sued the social network in 2014 in U.S. District Court in Dallas shortly after Facebook... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How Independent Publishers Can Fight the Google-Facebook Duopoly

The digital advertising ecosystem comprises an unlevel playing field vastly favoring the duopoly of Google and Facebook. Controlling 85% of media spend and 80% of referral traffic to independent publishers, this duopoly sets the rules and uses undue influence. Publishers and marketers alike... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Full Text of 'Bad Feminist' Author Roxane Gay’s WI12 Speech

For many at Winter Institute, Roxane Gay’s opening keynote, which called on booksellers to step up their role in providing sanctuary, set the tone for one of the most political and energizing bookseller gatherings in recent memory. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Barack Obama book deal for presidential memoirs expected to top $27 million

A book deal for the memoirs of former US president Barack Obama is expected to set a record, with a price tag as high as US$20 million (NZ$27.6 million). Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2017-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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