On 15 June 2016, Twitter introduced the new Periscope button on Android and iOS to broadcast live videos. Apps like Snapchat allow videos to be broadcasted in real-time, and then there is live-streaming on Facebook.
Earlier Twitter started testing the option with a small number of users and now it has been made available to all Android and iOS users. In order to avail this option, the users will have to download the Periscope app.
If the user doesn’t have the app installed on their smartphone yet, it will prompt them to download it immediately from the store. This makes sense because even though it is owned by Twitter, Periscope still aims to establish itself as a separate entity from the micro-blogging app.
Facebook Live, on the other hand, is built within the social network itself. This introduces Periscope to a wider range of users. There have been reports about Twitter having less and less traffic in recent times.
Ready to go live? Now everyone can tap a new button on iOS & Android to easily broadcast on #Periscope from Twitter! pic.twitter.com/tedpUN1QMA
— Twitter (@Twitter) June 15, 2016
“For me, this is huge because this means we are totally breaking down the barrier between a live broadcast,” said Khoshnevissan, Head of Business Operations-Periscope, “You don’t have to have Periscope. You don’t have to know what Periscope is.”
Talking about other live-streaming news, Periscope rival Meerkat has been working on a new project. We haven’t had much news from the company since March when it announced that the company plans to refocus and change up its business model due to competition from Periscope and Facebook Live. Now reports suggest that that Meerkat quietly produced a video-messaging app called Houseparty, and it has been in the App Store since February.
Reasons about it not having gained much popularity remains unclear at the moment. The new update on Twitter has raised some chatter, and the company does hope to gain back some of the lost traffic.
