March 2015

TWITTER LAUNCHES PERISCOPE, IT’S ANSWER TO LIVE STREAMING

On the heels of SXSW breakout star Meerkat, Twitter today announced it’s solution to live streaming with the launch of A new generation of Periscope, a live streaming video app that’s been in beta since the company acquired it back in January. This new generation of apps instant live streaming apps are putting live streaming back in the headlines, but are are driving significant buzz to consumers ready to adopt the technology? The recent success of the tech world, bringing the Meerkat indicates yes, but it may be a fight for market share trend to mobile, and users between tech giants able to deliver the optimal solution. may finally be ready to adopt THE HISTORY OF LIVE STREAMING Though livestreaming has technically been around for years, it has never been widely adopted by consumers beyond the gaming community and the various iterations of Chatroulette. Companies, from Ustream to Google, have attempted to mainstream the idea, but most users have continued to forego real-time broadcasting in favor of publishing edited Content after the fact (à la YouTube). This is largely due to the sluggish progress in taking the technology mobile -- with clunky websites, slow mobile data speeds and high costs keeping live streaming shackled to the desktop, where live content doesn’t vary enough to draw audiences en masse. On the other hand, brands, publishers and organizations have made live streaming a part of the content mix, but have struggled with finding turnkey solutions to do it well.

Now, tech companies are looking to completely change the market by bringing instant live streaming to the forefront for the first time, integrating it into the platforms consumers are already using daily. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING NOW Data is faster and cheaper than ever, and apps like Snapchat and Twitter have made us more comfortable with live, unedited publishing than ever before. First on the scene was hot tech platform Meerkat, a new, free mobile app that makes live streaming so simple that new users can be signed up and broadcasting within seconds. It was originally integrated with Twitter, a huge benefit to the app that would not need users to sign up separately, and would enable automatic tweets when live streaming began.

Now Twitter, recognizing Meerkat’s overnight popularity, has made a bold statement by moving up their announcement of Periscope, ensuring that Meerkat isn’t getting all the attention. Whether this kills Meerkat in its tracks remains to be seen, but the newly-launched sophisticated Periscope interface features a number of advances, and Twitter has already limited Meerkat's access to its API to make sure Periscope stands out to Twitter users. WHY DOES LIVE STREAMING ON TWITTER MATTER Before YouTube took an onerous process and simplified it for the masses, there was little to no user- created video content online, and none that would benefit brands. This is what Periscope (and Meerkat) does for live streaming which, until now, was the province of brands and publishers who relied on an expensive and unwieldy ecosystem of providers.

Following the emergence of YouTube, Google built an entire advertising business out of user-generated videos. This is the promise of Periscope for Twitter, which is still trying to crack the video market currently dominated by YouTube and now Facebook. To stand out, Twitter, and new threats like Meerkat, will need to take a different approach from traditional embedded video players.

Add to this the beautiful convergence of video with Twitter's core strength, real time, and it is easy to see that Periscope is a product that naturally fits with what Twitter's users value about the platform and what differentiates them in the social space.

PERISCOPE VS MEERKAT Periscope’s UI is arguably more elegant than Meerkat, but is missing the ability to send a tweet announcing scheduled livestreams from within the app, something that Twitter can likely remedy with little effort. On the other hand, while both allow you to save your stream to a phone’s camera roll, only Periscope automatically archives streams within the app for 24 hours, creating a trove of potential content that could be monetized in the future, and opens the door for potentially making the product less ephemeral by hosting streams indefinitely.

This is as exciting for Twitter as is it for brands because it could potentially solve Twitter’s flat user growth problem. The idea of instant broadcasting has inherent appeal to a generation that has embraced the ephemeral nature of SnapChat (even as SnapChat tries to pivot towards an older content model through their Discover tab), and could drive a new user base to branded Twitter accounts.

IMPLICATIONS FOR BRANDS

The rise of instant live streaming brings numerous possibilities for marketers, and there is still plenty of time for low-cost experimentation, since no platform has yet to achieve widespread adoption like Twitter or Facebook. Live streaming can be a fantastic way to bring live events to life on digital platforms, offer behind-the-scenes access, or serve as a Google Hangout alternative. A number of content outlets like CNN have eagerly experimented with Meerkat, hoping to leverage early adopter status to their advantage. But with Twitter now in the ring, the expectation is that brands will be fighting to be the first to market and take an early lead in what is expected to become a huge trend. Now is the time to test these opportunities to determine what is right for your brand.

CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Noah Mallin, Head of Social [email protected]