Livestreaming Apps Cause New Social Networking Trend

by Startacus Admin

Everyone loves a good bit of social networking. Whether it be updating our Twitter feeds, posting pictures on instagram or Facebook, we live in an age of technological change where we just love letting people know exactly what we’re up to almost every hour of the day.

Our favourite apps are now always at our fingertips and it means that we are constantly connected to the online world. Of course, in essence that means that we’re always able to keep up to date with what’s going on in the world - which is exactly where new live streaming apps Meerkat and Periscope step in.

The apps have only been on the market for a couple of months, but are already taking the world by storm. If you love using Twitter, you’ll be happy to know that both of the apps mean that users can not only give their followers short 140 character updates, but they can now stream video updates directly to their feeds! It adds a whole new dimension to social sharing and means that you have the opportunity to see the world through just about anyone’s eyes.

Both apps are very user friendly and offer countless possibilities for potential users. For example, if you’re a journalist, you can now easily report live from a major event. Periscope has already proved itself invaluable for citizen journalists. In a recent interview, Jeff Howe, a Journalism Professor at Northeastern University in Boston commented that “crowds are great at being at the right place at the right time and happening to have a smartphone.” Perhaps this means that Periscope and Meerkat have the ability to change how we see the world?

As well as this, as both of the apps have grown, news organisations across the globe have been experimenting with them. The Economist was one of the first UK news organisations to use Meerkat in order to broadcast a discussion on UK deflation. In the broadcast, Economics Correspondent Henry Curr answered questions directly from his Twitter account that were sent in by readers.

However, many have argued that Periscope is superior to Meerkat. Given that both apps were released around the same time and ultimately have the same goal, the competition between them has been fierce. Of course, they both have a lot of the same features but Persicope also gives users the ability to save videos for later so that you can come back to them and post them whenever you want. 

Will this perhaps mean that that journalists and reporters will be more inclined to use these apps? Who knows for sure, although it would seem that both apps make it a lot easier to go live and right into the action without having to worry about extra cameras or equipment. They are both easy to access and use and have the ability to greatly enhance media storytelling.

We can definitely see the appeal! Whether you want to keep up with the news, or just love to hang on your favourite celebrity’s every word - there is bound to be something you’d like.

Whether there will be a clear ‘winner’ in the battle between these apps remains to be seen, however it is quite clear that this new live streaming trend is here to stay.

After all, it enables people from different parts of the world the ability to express themselves in ways that weren’t possible before. On their website, the folks over at Periscope said that they became fascinated with the idea of discovering the world through someone else’s eyes, and now it’s possible! Users from different cultures now have the ability to live stream almost anything, even mundane everyday tasks that someone from the other side of the world may find fascinating.

It would seem that a massive shift in the way that people consume news is underway thanks to both Meerkat and Periscope. It’s safe to say that journalists, casual users, and indeed the entire Startacus team are very excited to see where this new technology could take us.

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• #meerkat
• #periscope
• #
• #apps
• #networking
• #twitter
• #live

Published on: 15th April 2015