MediaPlatform Now Offers Facebook and SharePoint Webcasting
Skype and entertainment companies such as Miramax have shown that Facebook can be a useful platform for delivering consumer video. Now MediaPlatform is taking Facebook video to the enterprise.
MediaPlatform announced today that its WebCaster software now lets customers deliver live and recorded webcasts to Facebook pages, Microsoft SharePoint sites, or any blog. While other webcasting companies are putting interactive elements inside their products, notes MediaPlatform's director of business development Erik Herz, MediaPlatform is putting all of its tools inside Facebook.
The move offers several advantages to companies creating webcasts. For one, they can use Facebook to efficiently serve video to employees inside the firewall. Herz notes that companies sometimes ask employees not to view company webcasts, since too many video requests would take down the network. That's not a problem here, as the system uses Adobe's Multicast Fusion to efficiently deliver to many viewers on a network. It's scalable, doesn't require a plug-in, and offers an Apple iOS stream, Herz notes.
Companies can also use Facebook's registration system for access, and let participants share with Facebook's built-in tools. It taps into a social media framework that people are already comfortable with.
The system was given a test run the day before launch by Mopar, the service, parts and customer-care brand owned by Chrysler. Mopar created a live event to preview cars that will be shown at the Chicago Auto Show next week. It was actually a request by TVS Communication Solutions, a company that works with Mopar, for the ability to create webcasts within a Facebook page that spurred MediaPlatform to create the functionality. Development took only a few weeks, says Herz.
The ability to host a webcast in a Facebook page or Sharepoint site is now a standard option in MediaPlatform's base offering. Users simply need to select the correct theme when creating an event. According to Herz, setting up a 100 person, 1 hour event costs under $750 with the self-service option. The system includes analytics, security, and the ability to integrate with an active directory single sign-on system or Facebook's registration system. Webcasters can take advantage of polls, synchronized slides, or audience Q&A tools.
"MediaPlatform delivers enterprise grade webcasting and webinars including user registration, security, and broadcast scale within the Facebook and SharePoint portal context," says Herz. "It's different because for the first time we're combining the reach and security of an enterprise grade webcasting platform with Facebook portals."
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