Live video was one of the hottest media topics of 2017. And to little surprise, it remains near the top of the list for 2018 as well. Brands, publishers and nearly everyone else remain focused on finding the "secret sauce," so to speak, to live video success.There are plenty of helpful tips and tricks. But ultimately, any (live) video activity should result in valuable engagements. Not just your run-of-the-mill likes or retweets. But active commentary and conversation around the brand and/or product in question.This week's live video industry news is included below. See anything we missed? Drop us a line.Here’s How Brands Should be Using Facebook Live [Adweek]Unlike the usual tutorial videos, Facebook Live allows the audience to respond to the presenter via the comments section and they actually get their questions answered. This not only increases audience engagement, it allows for better product innovation. “We believe that what makes these Facebook Live tutorials unique is the genuine interaction between our app users and ourselves,” says Daphne Kasriel-Alexander of Lightricks.How Brands Can Tackle Livestreaming Video Challenges [MarketingProfs]The Opportunity of Livestreaming: Live video offers brands a way to communicate with consumers in new and immersive ways, and it's an opportunity to develop fresh ways of advertising to live viewers. An airline, for example, could target people interested in airplanes and let them know about an upcoming live video tour of a 747. The carrier could run an ad just before (or even during) the livestream and reach an audience that's guaranteed to be in interested in the topic at hand.Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon Trump and Tim Meadows in Amazon’s Live Rose Parade Coverage [The Hollywood Reporter]An hour after the event wrapped its live coverage, the special event collected nearly 2,000 reviews — half of which gave the broadcast only one star on Amazon. Though some of these highlighted technical difficulties, most users' reviews either did not realize that the show was a satire or were adamant against its tone, advising Amazon to instead strictly follow the traditional local broadcasts that the event was parodying. "The Rose Parade isn't something to poke fun at!" said one user.Virtual Meetings Need More Than Just a Flawless Livestream to be Successful [Skift]“Your online experience needs to match your brand experience. If you are a big brand or you’re a leader in a market you can’t be putting on virtual or hybrid events where attendees are chatting with five people. It’s very detrimental to your brand,” said Kothari. “In a webinar everything is focused on the presenter. You don’t know how many people are on and you don’t care. A virtual event is different. The whole point is interactivity and the benefits of an engaged online community.”2018 Will be a Pivotal Year for Facebook’s Video Ambitions [Digiday]These moves have created a growing resentment among publishers that can’t completely quit Facebook but are at least considering pulling back on how much they publish to Facebook. One executive at a top news publisher that was part of the Live deals said his outlet plans to cut down how much it publishes to Facebook in 2018. Another executive at a major TV media company said outside of a couple of digital brands in his portfolio, he’s not thinking about Facebook too often.More Than 10 Million Facebook Users Went Live on New Year’s [Digital Trends]While the numbers show a growth in Facebook Live, at least for the holidays, one of Facebook’s newest Live features saw a spike over New Year’s as well. The number of Facebook users that went live with a friend, a feature added in 2017, was three times the number of users using the feature any other day in December, Facebook said. That puts New Year’s Eve as the largest day for Live With since the feature launched in May.3 Ways Marketers Can Rise Above the Facebook Noise [Adweek]While there are occasionally advantages to being first, when it comes to Facebook content strategies, it’s as good and sometimes better to be a quick second (unless you have unlimited funds, in which case, ignore this). Keep a keen eye on the competition, then imitate.Facebook Live is a good example. The smartest marketers didn’t jump on it right away. Instead, they watched others exert the energy and spend the money to “figure it out.” This revealed best practices. Being “late” didn’t hurt anyone. There’s only upside.SKIM THISBald Eagle Livestream Returns to Pennsylvania Nest [AP]Facebook to Livestream Golden Globes Red Carpet [Multichannel News]This Live-Stream of AI Learning to Play Super Mario Bros. is Awesome [TheNextWeb]Twitter and Emaar Properties are Ringing in the New Year with a Livestream From Dubai [Adweek]