Someone on my Twitter stream dug up this tweet from 2009 and finally replied to it TODAY:

Facebook is finally listening. 

Facebook ‘Live’ is live.  

I have not used it yet. I barely use Facebook. 

But I have to start using it. 

I’ve been a believer in web video since starting Wallstrip after being inspired by YouTube in 2006. 

Luckily I invested in Brett Wilson (Tubemogul) and have owned Google stock a long time because other than these two companies and Wallstrip, web video has been a massive time suck and money loser for me. 

In 2014 I made a small personal angel investment in Meerkat which has rightly pivoted and Twitter bought Periscope which had me fooled into believing Twitter and live video was the future. That cost me a few shekels. I never check Periscope and am disappointed each time I use it for one reason or another. It’s not any one person or company’s fault. It’s hard. That’s what makes it such a big opportunity. 

With Facebook live I am convinced that Facebook is making a very huge bet. The edge or death of Facebook ‘Live’ is their scale and balance sheet and the storage ‘will’. 

I am pretty convinced that the one time I finally make the video I want to keep …it must be kept forever. It has to magically do it with the original ‘play’ click I made. It should also be instantly available to the widest possible or smallest possible audience of my choosing. 

Facebook says they will store it forever and allow you to embed. That feels like a huge commitment and better than the alternatives I have today. I refuse to have this ‘Periscope’ (Twitter) feature (I now consider it a bug) in the future…