Facebook Live! Coming soon to a screen near you!

The other morning as I was sipping my fragrant Earl Grey tea, marveling at the picturesque golf view from my windows, sudden beautiful tune from far away Mumbai brightened by mind. Yes, it was my good friend and popular Mumbai singing couple Samir Date and Dipalee doing a Facebook Live of their upcoming USA concert tour. It was exhilarating as I got a bird's eye view of what their two month long concert tour will sound like.

This is the trendiest feature of Facebook, in which by the click of a button you can go live towards the world, or selected audience as you choose. Whatever you say or do along with yourself on screen will appear on the display of those who are watching. There is an option to comment from viewers and you can respond to them while on live. It is interesting to watch how different people are using this brand new feature. 

Earlier in the week I tuned in to the FB Live of Samarjit Ray, a good friend and good singer. He sang melodious songs on request from audience. He was lively and many of my fellow musicians were commenting online from different parts of the world making in an intimate yet global presentation. One actor friend of mine who is kind of good looking was live just to chat with his fans and friends, getting lots of complements from his female fans, I am sure was exciting. For actors this may be fine. But when we singers come on live shows on television and audience talk about how beautiful we look or our saree, it is kind of frustrating.

My friend Setu had a beautiful live from a waterfall in Switzerland as she was roaming those lands and it was an interesting angle. For those who do not get to travel much this live aspect of travelers sharing their views may open a new vista. Another friend Sergei shared his views while traveling through Africa, this was also very inspirational. Few of my friends shared their times live from the Niagara Falls, it was breathtaking.

A dear sweet young friend of mine Aanchal had a very cute live broadcast where she was playing with her cat in a bag. The posing and dancing of her little kitty cat in and out of the bag was hilarious. Few friends posted live from world renowned concerts like Brian Adams and Ricky Martin. The 'Livin La Vida Loca' famous Ricky Martin concert broadcast was jammed after a while as they do not allow live from concerts. I have seen cooking shows of friends, games live broadcast and TV programs from channels.

Facebook live has enormous possibilities. We can use it innovatively to interact with the world, showcase our work, or simply help others. We can hold public forums on issues, teach techniques of singing, share beautiful moments. There is the potential for abuse also, for which we have to be cautious.

It opens a new vista of possibilities. Let's see what tomorrow brings!

The author is a singer & writer