By Scarlett McCain | @ScarlettMcCain  

The sun is finally out - the rain has retreated to terrorize another part of the world. Your daily commute will no longer consist of squinting through torrents of water and inching down the road.

You turn in place, admiring the clouds. You take a step onto the sky and appreciate how clear it is as you walk off of the skyscraper.

A dream? A fantasy?

Not quite. Just the next big move towards immersive media.

Video has always been exciting. It’s always held a certain magic to it. But with 360 degree video on the rise, the line between a production and virtual reality is blurring.

For those who want in on this trend, the gear needed is becoming more affordable: prices range from $350-900 for cameras that will shoot in 360 degrees. It might seem like a heavy blow to your wallet if your business is just starting, but it’s worth the investment.

Livit

Unsure of what these cameras can do? One way to get an idea is through the Livit app. If you’ve ever used Periscope, you’ll understand the basic idea of Livit.

If not, think live streaming in real time. Users can not only watch your filming, but comment on it as well. It’s a great opportunity for interaction as you can answer questions as they come in with minimal delay.

Livit is partnering with 360fly to give it an edge over the competition: videos in full 360 degrees of exploration. These spherical shots can be explored through the app or other viewers such as Google Cardboard.

Oculus’ Gear

Remember all the hype of Oculus Rift? It was bought by Facebook in 2014, but we hadn’t heard too much since.

Well, the social media giant is dusting off this purchase and looking to put it into use. First, naturally, was the 360 degree videos. Now, Oculus Video will let you sign in with your Facebook account and personalize your feed based on friends and pages.

After this rollout, users will also be able to use Facebook Reactions in the coming weeks. So now when you get vertigo from the video shot from the top of a skyscraper, you can express yourself more appropriately (“Wow,” “Angry,” “Sad”?).

With each update, is seems as if the virtual reality company and social media mecca will continue to merge until you’ll never have to logout of Facebook, because we’ll all have entered the Matrix.

Want to know how you can leverage your brand in this future VR world, or still just figuring out how to best integrate social media into your business plan? No problem! Contact us here.