It’s becoming a classic story. A new app appears on Product Hunt, suddenly sprawls across the web using your Twitter address book and, before you know it, every other link in your stream is to this new social tool.
The most recent example was Meerkat, a video-streaming app designed with a Snapchat-style simplicity. But this one came with a catch. No sooner was it doing the rounds than Twitter pulled its access to your address book for building out your connections.
Many speculated some link between this and the acquisition of another, similar service by the name of Periscope. Well, today, has just gone live – and already it’s demonstrating some advantages over Meerkat that perhaps explain why it received the big bucks from Twitter over its rival.
Here are five that stand out immediately.
1. Instant means instant
For many, this was their first experience of Meerkat: click a stream, start watching and asking questions, and then … nothing. Meerkat is on a , which is a big issue considering those asking questions, published to Twitter, must then wait through that time to see any response.
This has a terrible effect on the otherwise stimulating feel of interactivity. It paralyses the audience – but, maybe more importantly, also the presenter. The feeling of a live broadcast becomes more like the occasions where the news cuts to halfway around the world, instead of someone on the roof.
Periscope is instant. You start your stream and you’re immediately away. This may sound small but the effect of connection between audience and broadcaster is enormous. It’s the difference between Twitter and sending an email.
2. Followers by default
Twitter is going to make the most of the opportunity for tight integration. Even before Twitter cut off access, Meerkat would originally just let you choose people already using the app to follow.
By contrast, Periscope lets you subscribe in advance to anyone in your stream that might start using the app. The effect is that very quickly you develop a network of streams to follow – and, equally, you quickly have subscribed followers.
This makes everyone more willing to open the app and more willing to broadcast on it. Again, a small sounding difference with a big impact.
3. Saving replays
The other most common experience for anyone that has seen tweets about Meerkat is that you click a link only to find the stream has closed. Periscope mitigates this by saving and archiving your recording (if you choose). This should result in many fewer frustrated viewers – and many more who can appreciate the impact and opportunity of the tool first hand.
4. Addictive data
Wrap up a Meerkat stream and you find yourself back where you started. Do the same on Periscope and you’re delivered the following stats on your performance:
- retention
- viewers
- time watched
- duration
It’s hard to explain how strangely satisfying this makes it. You’re not just broadcasting into the ether, you’re really getting a feel that there’s someone out there. It’s your own little Nielsen TV ratings system.
The only thing left to add is a graph showing how you perform over time – and you can bet that those professional viners and brands will love this addition for helping them see the value of time spent in Periscope.
5. Twitter’s heavy hands
These kinds of services are really nothing new. But the speed with which Twitter took action to mitigate Meerkat running away with its audience is a sign. This is a serious new frontier for the social network.
Combing that power with their ability to promote the app across their network, to develop features like hosting the enormous amount of storage and streaming that “replays” require, and you start to see a bit of a David and Goliath situation appearing.
The question that should leap out here can be one of fairness. How comfortable should we be with the potential stifling of innovation? Is it okay for Twitter to be throwing its weight around in this way?
Based on these advantages, on this occasion, I’d say probably yes. Twitter seems to have selected a genuinely superior service – and perhaps one that will take live video streaming beyond the flash-in-the-pan status it had enjoyed before.
Max Tatton-Brown writes about technology, marketing and startups. He’s founding director of communications consultancy Augur. Find him on Twitter @MaxTB.
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