Interest has been building in new live streaming app, Periscope, ever since news broke weeks ago tha...

1. Twitter Launches its own Live Streaming App, Periscope, to
Compete with Meerkat by @mattsouthern
Interest has been building in new live streaming app, Periscope, ever since news broke weeks ago
that it was acquired by Twitter.
When competitive live streaming app, Meerkat, stole everyone's attention at SXSW, eyes were once
again on Twitter and Periscope to see what they would bring to the table to compete with the latest
social media darling.
Well, one thing Twitter has already done in response to Meerkat's growing popularity is shut off
access to Twitter's social graph. That means users can no longer join Meerkat and immediately
follow all of their Twitter connections, which was once possible in the very early days of Meerkat.
However, a move like that only serves to delay the inevitable. If Meerkat is going to catch on, it will
grow with or without Twitter's help. In order to truly halt the growth of Meerkat, Twitter has to
create a better, and more compelling experience with Periscope.
Now that the app is finally available in the iOS App Store (sorry Android users, no app yet) we can
see if Twitter has succeeded in delivering a superior live streaming experience.
Having used both, I'll share a few things I've learned about each of them. Essentially they both offer
the same service, they ability to broadcast live video to Twitter from your iPhone, but Periscope
comes with a few more bells and whistles, so to speak.
While videos broadcast on Meerkat are ephemeral (they aren't stored online), videos broadcast on
Periscope can be watched over and over again. Recorded videos also come with a recording of the
live chat feed.
What happens on Periscope is confined to Periscope. This is the opposite of Meerkat's motto, which
is everything that happens on Meerkat happens on Twitter. When you make a comment on
someone's live video, it's only shown in Periscope, not broadcast to your whole Twitter feed.
It's much easier to find popular streams on Periscope compared to Meerkat. With Meerkat you're
limited to seeing videos from people you follow, on Periscope you get suggestions of popular videos
to watch from people you don't follow.

2. It's pretty! There's no question about it, Periscope is a whole lot nicer to look at. Although that may
be a personal preference, and opinions may vary on this one.
Those are a few of the major differences I've found so far. I couldn't think of a whole lot of things
Meerkat has over Periscope, other than the fact it was first out of the gate and has more users at the
moment. But history has shown that first to the market doesn't always end up being the market
leader.
Matt Southern is the lead news writer at Search Engine Journal. His passion for helping people in all
aspects of online marketing flows through in the expert articles he contributes to many well
respected publications across the web. Contact him via his website if you'd like him to write for you.
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