Facebook launches its second-screen companion app and it seems quite a competition for Twitter

Facebook’s New Product Experimentation team has designed a new app, called ‘Venue.’

This is a second screen companion app, which will help engage fans from all over the world around live events.

Now, this kind of functionality is offered by many other second screen apps too. And Twitter also keeps the second screen companionship experience alive through specified hashtags that fans use for different Live events or monumental things happening on the TV, like a live-streamed political event, or the premiere of a highly anticipated movie or show. Fans can do live commentaries around these latest happenings on Twitter, following those hashtags.

Twitter’s in-house curation team also makes special highlights and quick summaries, featuring notable tweets regarding that event, short video clips, comments, photos, and any other important thing related to that event or story.

While Twitter allows commentaries from everyone, the Venue is going to be quite specific and more ‘expert-centric’ in this regard. For example, if it is sports event, only expert athletes, analysts, and sportspeople will be able to ‘host’ that event.

Similarly, in case of a political event, well-known journalists, current affairs analysts, and some other related people will be able to host the event on Venue, by giving their personal views, reactions, and analysis around that particular story.

They will also post interactive polls and questions for the people who are watching that event. They may even chat with the viewers around specific moments in the event, but the overall theme of the app does not primarily focus on the comments or reactions of the audience as such. Even the viewers do not have to stick to the event throughout. When there is a particular moment that might spike interest, the app itself will send prompts like short digital opportunities for the fans around it and they may start participating then.


So, this is going to be like a ‘Live broadcast,’ where there is a large concurrent viewership, and yet the overall viewing experience is personal and solo! In Twitter, everyone can comment, and all comments have an equal footing, while in Venue, it is the host that leads the discussions and curates comments.

On May 31st, 2020, Venue is going to provide the second screen companionship experience to NASCAR’s ‘The Supermarket Heroes 500 race’, which will be hosted by the prominent social media personality, ‘nascarcasm.’

Future NASCAR races on Venue will be hosted by nascarcasm, FOX Sports NASCAR reporter Alan Cavanna and Landon Cassil, a NASCAR driver.

These events will hopefully bring a great and innovative way for users to engage and have an exciting and unique experience with Venue in the future also.



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