Facebook starts gamifying videos, adds support for quizzes and polls in lives

tech2 News StaffJun 20, 2018 14:14:29 IST

The traditional TV-viewing experience has always been a one-sided affair. You sit like zombies in front of that massive screen, passively consuming TV shows, reality shows and, of course an endless stream of ads.

Brent Rivera and That Chick Angel. Image: Facebook

As we go increasingly mobile, with our tiny little smartphone displays replacing monster screens, Facebook has decided that it's about time we make the viewing experience more interactive.

Facebook announced on 19 June that creators and publishers can now enable polling and some sort of gamification features for live broadcasts.

These tools would help creators add quizzes, polls, challenges and games to their videos. Players would also be eliminated from a game, say, for giving the wrong answer.

The interactive game-shows that would be coming this week on Facebook are, Confetti by INSIDER, which will have pop culture trivia questions, Outside Your Bubble by BuzzFeed News, which will help contestants "cross the cultural divide" and interact with opponents from every corner of the globe, and What's in the Box by Fresno, where viewers may win prizes for correctly guessing the things inside a closed box.

According to a report in TechCrunch, Facebook will also roll out payment tools if and when the features gain popularity.

Several popular creators on Facebook have also expressed interest in the new features.