Singapore Bigo Live, the worldwide live streaming platform, has launched the Amateur Streamers Incentive Program, which aims to assist aspiring broadcasters who want to use livestreaming to exhibit their talents. 

The project is in line with Bigo Live’s general strategy, which is to promote and create an ecosystem that is centred on the creative economy in an organic manner. It also seeks to preserve a welcoming environment on the network for both creators and users.

Bigo Live plans to build on its current creator-centric incentive programs and initiatives through the Amateur Streamers Incentive Program. The program’s goal is to inspire Bigo Live users to start their own live streaming sessions, which will attract more users to the network. Additionally, it aims to persuade those who are interested in live streaming but are not currently users to sign up and use the site for themselves.

Those who are approved for the program will have access to a customised initiative that will teach them how to stream live sessions on Bigo Live with specific training. Best practices for becoming skilled Bigo Live broadcasters will be covered throughout the course. In addition to having the freedom to arrange when they livestream, participants will benefit from the platform’s ability to provide them with worldwide exposure.

Significant incentives will be built into the program to encourage continuous and engaging content creation while also promoting live streaming as a source of income. 

The Amateur Streamers Incentive Program, which was started earlier this month in the Middle East and North Africa region, has since expanded to a number of nations in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. The program reached the registration of over 300,000 amateur broadcasters to date. 

Speaking about the program, James, president of BIGO Technology, said, “Our Amateur Streamers Incentive Program offers a custom-made agenda that meets the unique needs of our amateur broadcasters, who despite their talent, often hesitate to step into the limelight. We recognise this, and we hope that through the program, our users can overcome their inhibitions, showcase their creativity, and seamlessly integrate into a welcoming community that celebrates their unique voices and perspectives.”

“Through a comprehensive training and reward mechanism, we want to nurture the next generation of broadcasters and empower them to be the best versions of themselves,” James said. 

He added, “The global creator economy has allowed the livestreaming industry to experience exponential growth in recent years, presenting limitless opportunities within the virtual landscape. As we remain committed to empowering our users by lowering the barriers of entry and providing then with the right environment to develop, the Amateur Streamers Incentive Program will provide a launchpad for aspiring content creators and deliver positive impact through a holistic and inclusive livestreaming experience.” 

SingaporeBigo Technology, a global social livestreaming platform, has announced the launch of ‘Community,’ a new interactive feature that allows users to create and manage online communities, as well as post and share original content with other platform users who share similar interests.

The launch of ‘Community’ marks the first feature of its kind in the livestreaming industry and is part of Bigo Live’s ongoing efforts to promote virtual self-expression, to enable users to form deeper connections with the platform’s global network of over 400 million users. 

As Bigo Live celebrates in sixth anniversary this year, ‘Community’ comes at the back of the launch of ‘Virtual Live’, the platform’s latest feature that allows users to create personalised virtual 3D avatars to represent themselves and communicate with others.

Mike Ong, VP of Bigo Technology, shared that as they enter a new era of social media with the rise of livestreaming, they want to elevate Bigo Live into a catalyst for an organic development of a creator economy-centric ecosystem while still retaining their core mission of being a user-first platform. 

“We hope to achieve this with the launch of ‘Community’ by providing our users with not only an immersive and holistic livestreaming experience, but also experience synchronous social interaction that is an extension of the physical world,” Ong said.

All Bigo Live users have access to ‘Community’, allowing them to customise and organise their communities by topic and interest, and to respond to posts by sharing, liking, commenting or tipping through Bigo Live’s virtual gifts customised.

In addition to being able to manage three communities at once, users will be able to join as many communities as they choose. Bigo Live broadcasters can now use ‘Community’ as a channel to present content that can’t be easily shown during a livestreaming session, allowing them to expand their audience and build a following.

The feature’s ‘Live tab’ will also contain livestreaming sessions hosted by members of the community, which users can join and participate in. Several Bigo Live communities have sprung up to reflect the diverse cultural origins and interests of Bigo Live members since the service’s inception. Fitness, Latinx, K-Pop dancing, and Mukbang are just a few of the various subcultures represented here.

To ensure that Bigo Live’s strict content policies are adhered to, the platform has also introduced a series of new tools and policies to ensure that Bigo Live remains a safe, healthy, and positive environment for all. In addition to current measures, ‘Community’ will see the implementation of admins who will be tasked to pin and unpin posts, as well as delete posts or remove users that violate Bigo Live’s guidelines. Admins who have been exemplary in managing their communities and supporting good content production will stand a chance to be award with Bigo Live’s first-ever ‘BIGO Community Award’.

Ong adds, “The livestreaming industry has grown exponentially over the past few years, and as an ever-evolving industry with an increasingly tech-savvy population, the opportunities for growth are limitless. Our mission here at Bigo Live is to provide the best experience for our broadcasters and users. We do this by innovating features and exploring new ways for our users to engage with one another and form meaningful social relationships.” 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Live streaming platform Bigo Live in Malaysia has announced the official launch of ‘Bigo Marketplace’, a new e-commerce initiative by the platform to aid local micro-enterprises and small and midsize businesses (SMBs) leverage the platform’s growing user base to increase brand exposure and facilitate sales conversions.

With Bigo Marketplace, Bigo Live has launched a new feature called ‘Shop’ on the Bigo Live app which users and broadcasters alike can access for an easier and convenient shopping experience. Said feature is currently available to vendors who have already signed on to the Bigo Marketplace program and enables them to direct Bigo Live users to their brand or product’s website during their live streaming sessions. 

As the feature is currently in its Beta stage, it is currently available to registered users, broadcasters, and vendors.

“Here at Bigo Live, we are committed to providing our users with engaging and meaningful content that not only entertains but also gives back to the community through curated content that helps Malaysian businesses through this difficult period. With Bigo Marketplace, we not only want to look after our growing ecosystem of content creators but also provide business owners with an additional platform to generate income and exposure for their businesses,” a Bigo Live spokesperson said.

The ‘Bigo Marketplace’ launch follows the success of Bigo Live’s first e-commerce online marketplace event, ‘Bigo Pasar Malam’, where Bigo Live users were able to participate in live stream sales sessions simulating the Malaysian night market experience. Held last 30 July and 6 August 2021, the event saw over 100 Bigo Live broadcasters offering products for sale from their own businesses. These products ranged from clothing, snacks, gadgets, accessories, homeware, as well as cosmetic and skincare products.

“Malaysia is among the top e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia. Following the success of ‘Bigo Pasar Malam’, where the event drew in between around 150,000 to 200,000 views for our vendors during each session, and observing certain vendors who managed to sell more than 100 items within 2 hours, we decided to launch Bigo Marketplace as we recognized the potential of live streaming as a key contributor to Malaysia’s e-commerce industry,” the spokesperson added.

Sydney, Australia – Global live streaming platform Bigo Live’s new live stream event aims to engage football fans in Australia, and it has partnered with Australian Football League (AFL) talents Xavier Duursma and Cameron Zurhaar to conduct a Q&A session with fans.

To be streamed live on 27 and 28 of February, the live stream session aims to encourage Aussie football fans to be active and healthy during the global pandemic by unfolding and connecting the communities over the shared love for football.

During the session, the AFL players will answer the top 10 frequently asked questions to them and will share football players’ stories and talk about their daily lives as professional players.

On 27 February, Cam Zurhaar, who plays for North Melbourne Football Club, will go live streaming first from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. AEDT. While on 28 February, Xavier Duursma, the wingman for Port Adelaide Football Club and 2019 rising star nominee, will go live from 8:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m AEDT.’

Bigo Live has been leveraging ANZ talents, such as Stan Walker, M4SONIC, Taylor Henderson, Dami Im, Erin Miranda, and many other artists, and is now looking forward to connecting to the rich sports culture in the region.

Singapore – Following its successful awards last year, Singapore technology company BIGO is hosting its second annual BIGO Awards Gala, and will be centered around the theme  ‘Connecting the World’.

BIGO Awards Gala last year, which was also its first-ever, was held at the Capitol Theatre Singapore, and this time the awards have moved entirely virtual – right at  Bigo Live’s very own Music Livehouse channel. lThis year’s theme will circle the values of resilience and creativity to celebrate the platform’s leading streamers from across the globe for just how far they have come during such a tumultuous year.

With more than 30 offices in the world, Singapore-based BIGO is the company behind communication platforms Bigo Live (Live Streaming), Likee (Short-form Videos), and imo (Video Communication), which hosts broadcasters around the world in engaging live streams and video content.

More than 72 families, which are formed by groups of users within the Bigo Live app, and 78 broadcasters will be honored at the gala under four categories: “Top Regional Broadcaster”, “Top Regional Family”, “Top Global Broadcaster” and “Top Global Family”. Honored BIGO users will be selected by regional and global category, and are represented from 150 different countries and regions around the world.

To add to the festivities, the BIGO Awards Gala will also feature a variety of performances by BIGO broadcasters, including fire dances, DJ sets, K-pop dances, and Urdu songs. Audience members who will tune to the awards show via BIGO’s Music Livehouse channel can also vote for their favorite broadcasters, families, and performances, audience members will get tickets that can be used in the lucky draw in return. Prizes will be given out of a pillow depicting Dino, the official mascot of BIGO as well as virtual gifts like pendants, entrance effects, badges, and medals, which are specifically designed for the Gala.

“COVID-19 has forced us to physically distance ourselves from the people we love most and the vast majority of events have moved to a virtual setting, which has caused live streaming to emerge as the best channel for connecting people from all over the world to share experiences real-time,” a spokesperson from BIGO stated.

“Despite the pandemic, Bigo Live users have proven that you don’t have to be together physically to form meaningful connections. We’re so proud of how our users have supported each other during such a challenging year and are excited to celebrate the impact they’ve made in connecting the world through live streaming. And because this year’s event is entirely virtual, we anticipate an even larger audience than last year,” added the spokesperson. 

BIGO Awards Gala 2021 Top Global Broadcaster-Amy, @amy_tokyo

Notable winners from this year’s award show include Ami Ohta from Tokyo, Japan who was recognized as the number one Top Global Broadcaster on Bigo Live, and Bigo Live’s top US Broadcaster Megan Nguyen, otherwise known by her streaming name MeganQQ.

“I cannot express just how honored I am to be awarded the top global broadcaster at this year’s BIGO Gala. With so much going on in the world at the moment, Bigo Live has done an incredible job at keeping their users connected and engaged, and I am thrilled to be recognized for playing a part in that.” Ohta stated.

Meanwhile, Nguyen commented, “One of my biggest challenges this year was trying to become the top broadcaster in the US, given there are so many other talented and strong hosts in the U.S. I am very proud of the fact that I am currently a top US broadcaster and that my Bigo Live family is still growing strong.”