Facebook’s new live streaming service won’t compete with Twitch, but it is a new way for Twitch streamers to interact with fans. Here’s how.

Last August, Facebook, Inc. announced the upcoming launch of Live—a mobile-centric streaming service that would connect celebrities with their fans through live-streaming video—today the social media giant released the service in the United States. To get on board, broadcasters and viewers only need an iPhone and download the app from the iTunes store (an Android version is coming soon).

Since Facebook Live is not a desktop or console streaming service, it is not a competitor for Twitch, Inc., YouTube, Hitbox or any of the other video game streaming services on the market. The service does, however, provide another way for Twitch streamers to interact with their fans and audience when they are not playing a game or in a virtual universe.

Many Twitch streamers maintain Facebook pages to keep in touch with their fans, alongside Twitter and YouTube. Celebrity streamers in particular maintain massive fan bases with Facebook and often share schedules, giveaways and sometimes insights into their daily lives.

The top Twitch streamers can find themselves watched by over 2.3 million subscribers (right now that’s how many subs streamer syndicate has from playing mostly Counter Strike: Global Offensive) and rack up more than 36 million channel views. According to Quantcast stats, Twitch received over 900 million views in the past 30 days alone.

That’s a lot of eyeballs looking for something to watch, and Facebook Live could provide yet another way to capture and hold those eyeballs.

Another way to please the fans or a second facecam?

Of course, the obvious way that Facebook Live will affect Twitch broadcasters is that it provides a way to interact with fans outside of the game.

Many streamers enjoy providing information about their setup—such as how their rig works, the equipment and software that makes it work and perhaps even the environment that surrounds them. There’s a particular vanity to streaming that extends beyond putting up a facecam (and wearing interesting headgear or shirts). Most streamers use Twitch and YouTube to insert personal interaction in this fashion, but not many take their viewers for a walk (which could be done with mobile).

Facebook Live, much like Twitter, Inc.’s Periscope service, provides a second-window into the lives of people trying to market themselves. An interesting way to use that “window” could be to provide a secondary facecam.

Facecams are a common way for streamers to provide a more human experience for viewers, this is done by putting a small video of their face in one of the corners of the screen that takes up less than 20 percent of the total viewing area. The view is limited, of course, which allows most streamers to game in their skivvies (unless they stand up and forget to switch the camera off).

Setting up a smartphone during a streaming session could be used to give a different view of the streamer while playing, providing a different experience for fans. Coupled with gameplay a streamer could give fans an idea of how they place their fingers on keyboard, a look at the rig itself and a full body view of how they experience the game.

This could be especially good for console streamers who play as groups; it’s rather hard to keep everyone in the facecam at once—plus, who can resist watching a bunch of happy people on a couch, swinging controllers during losses and joyously celebrating wins.

In short, Facebook Live will likely not impact Twitch streaming at all in its own gig. However, it has a lot of interesting ways that streamers could use it to better connect with their fans and provide a different experience for viewers.

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