Tuesday Tip: How to Watch Facebook Livestream and YouTube Live Video

For better or worse, the world is now full of live broadcasters. With a smartphone and an app, anyone – individuals, celebrities, politicians or businesses – can easily tap, shoot and share live streaming videos with the world.

You can watch Facebook livestream and YouTube live videos from any device – phone, tablet or computer. Here’s how to tune in on two of the busiest streaming platforms, Facebook Live and YouTube Live.

Facebook Livestream

Whenever your friends or people you follow start Facebook live video streaming, it appears in your News Feed, and you can watch it there.

To see all the Facebook livestream videos happening in your part of the world, click Live Video to the left of your News Feed on your computer and you’ll go to the Facebook Live Map. From there, you can jump into any one of thousands of live videos being streamed. If you don’t see the Live Video link, click See More to extend the pulldown menu. On your phone, tap the menu at upper right, scroll down and tap See More, then tap Live Videos.

Another option is to enter the hashtag #live in the Search field. This will show you a list of Facebook livestreams. You can narrow your search by topic if you enter #live then the topic you’re interested in.

While you’re watching a Facebook livestream, you can weigh in with comments, and the broadcaster and other viewers will see your thoughts in real time. You can also invite friends to watch the same stream or share it to them.

YouTube Live Video

Watching YouTube live video is even easier. Just go to youtube.com/live. This will show you a wide variety of streams, organized in categories including Featured Live Streams, Live Now – Sports and Live Now – Animals.

You can also enter live stream in the YouTube search field. Add a topic to narrow your search results to the subject you’re interested in.

Same as Facebook Live, you can comment on the stream you’re watching in real time.

Live streaming provides a fascinating look at the world around you as it happens. Check it out and be enlightened.