A new feature on Facebook is giving the world insight into your life – and you may not even know it.
Truth be told, most people who post a Facebook Live video intend to be seen. But they may not know that they’re on a “Live Map” feature provided by Facebook itself. Currently, it appears to only work on desktop computers.
And as the name implies, it’s a live map of all public Facebook broadcasts around the world that have location enabled.
It turns out there are quite a few. It also turns out that there are a few recurring themes that you may spot while surfing through this very interesting video web.
Here are a few:
- Church sermons: If you look around for any length of time, particularly on the U.S. portion of the map, you’ll find someone sitting in a pew videoing a sermon. You’re passing along a good word so good for you. Check with your local church before whipping out your phone though.
- Driving posts: And you thought texting was bad. It turns out that some of Facebook’s greatest philosophers feel their best content comes from the open road – while they’re on it gazing back and forth from the road to the camera… I hope their insurance company isn’t watching.
- People sitting in their living room: Hey, why not, this is where you spend your time so why not share it with the world. Except it’s usually pretty mundane.
- Live concerts: Every once in a while you’ll stumble on someone recording from a seat at a bar. It’s shaky, it’s not great sound and it might even be illegal depending on what the artist demands. But hey, if you spot a live concert, give it a listen… But you may not want to do it yourself.
- Live sports: You heard right. By way of these new high tech video phones and a big screen TV in a living room in Juarez, Mexico, you can watch a major sporting event. And recently, it appeared that hundreds did exactly that for a major soccer game. Good thing for them the map doesn’t pinpoint the exact location. I’m pretty sure they fine for things like that.
- Drunk karaoke: One man in aviator sunglasses with beer in hand singing his heart out to someone – or in this case everyone – on Facebook.
- Drunk everything else: Doing dumb things on a phone isn’t new. But thanks to technology, there are so many new ways to do it. Live. With video…
- Moments in the club: Hit the Live Map in the late night and you’ll find one thing that’s pretty consistent. That’s darkly lit videos with flashing lights, possible people dancing and a monotonous beat. Not quite the same as actually being there – or is it?
- Freestyle rapping: Budding rappers are just a click away. Wander through the videos long enough and you’re bound to spot or listen to one. Quality varies.
- Makeup tutorials: They’re not just for YouTube anymore! If you enjoy watching paint dry, you’re going to love this!
Of course, this is just a small list and obviously things can be very different from one moment to the next. But it may be worth checking out this map if you’re feeling nosy. You really never know what will pop up – for better or for worse.
Want to see the live video feature? Click here. (This may not show up on for mobile users)
