Facebook 's Research and Development (R&D) team announced on Friday (29th May) the launch of its third app in less than seven days: it is Venue, a kind of interactive platform for live events.
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A new installment had the Facebook experiment team in these days of the pandemic, since they presented Venue, a second screen with interactive information that will help users to have a more entertaining follow-up of live events.
The novelty was developed in partnership with the NASCAR car racing league, which will even test the service in one of its competitions.
This tool will not stream anything live, it will only serve as a home for discussions hosted by expert commentators, such as current or former journalists, athletes, and analysts, that fans can enter while an event is ongoing.
According to the social network, Venue, available for Android and iOS devices, is not necessarily a live event playback app - where it would be possible to watch in real-time all the moments of the competition.
Instead, it will be a space for fans and commentators (journalists, narrators, or even athletes) to interact during the exhibition of a car race, for example.
In some ways, it will be a simile to Twitter, where you can find opinions, graphics, and contextualized information while following a live event.
The interaction between them will take place through "venues" ("meeting places" in free translation), where commentators will be able to provide comments, ask questions and interactive surveys, and open short chats.
As the app will be a kind of interactive hub for people to discuss during the competition, one of Venue's differentials is the sharing of "Moments" - those unforgettable moves that need to be registered.
As soon as commentators share the moment, fans will be notified via mobile and will be able to interact with others.
"Passionate fans are constantly looking for better ways to engage with other fans and experts at their favorite events," said Facebook in a statement. "
The site aims to offer fans an interactive experience on the second screen, curated by specialists and focused on the fundamental moments of their favorite events", he concluded.
NASCAR will be the first major test of the app
As the main partner in this initiative, NASCAR will be the first league to test the new application. On May 31 (Sunday) the Supermarket Heroes 500 will take place - and fans will be able to follow the race with big names in the auto segment.
NASCAR was one of the first leagues to resume activities in the United States after the country recorded major drops in the number of victims by COVID-19. However, it will still not be possible to follow the races in person.
"With fans currently unable to participate in races, Venue is an excellent way for people to experience NASCAR together and share all the high-octane action," said the social network.
"As NASCAR returns to action in the coming weeks, Venue will provide users with a unique and exciting way to connect with other racing fans from around the world - all with the safety and comfort of their own homes.
NASCAR was developed based on innovation, and we couldn't be more excited to help a great partner, like Facebook's New Product Experimentation team, innovate around new platforms. "
Tim Clark, senior vice president, and digital director, NASCAR
As stated above, Venue is the third application announced by the Facebook R&D team just this week: Collab was announced as a potential competitor to TikTok in the production of short videos that use ready-made audio.
Also, CatchUp is a service focused on voice calls that allow groups of up to eight people. The new live events app arrives to offer a function similar to what Twitter has been doing for some time.
Unfortunately, the Venue is still in the testing phase only in the United States and is not expected to launch in other markets.
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