Periscope – Broadcasting Live
So I don’t know why I’m late to the party (in the technology world 30 days overdue feels like I missed a train passing by my house) maybe it’s because I chase a small human around regularly and rarely get out these days (lol).
I recently stumbled upon a new app called PERISCOPE … yes, it’s all the rage these days and provides unique, interesting content that is a ton of fun to play with and has HUGE potential.
You’ll hear about it on the news/radio “Join us as we broadcast live” … it’s a simple app placed on your phone that allows you to broadcast live whatever you’re doing. People can watch you and your broadcast, comment on it and give a bit of love by tapping the screen which generates HEARTS.
In my house we spent the past 2 mornings watching the news, drinking coffee with the app up watching the behind the scenes shenanigans … and I’ll be honest, we couldn’t get enough of watching our favorite 10NBC News morning program with @whec_nrudd and @whec_ptaney.
I’ve been doing a bit of research on this app, and while it is very new, it’s pretty spectacular if you think about it. Now in reality my broadcasts are my mundane life of chasing the tiny human, yelling for the dog, cooking dinner in my kitchen and getting lunches ready in the morning … but the potential to share a particular event or situation is amazing to me.
So here is how to get started – put it on your phone – you won’t regret it.
Get started
#1 Download the App
#2 Login to Twitter
Watch a video (TV icon or World icon) of people you are following or those broadcasting somewhere on planet earth.
#1 Tap any video to watch
#2 Communicate to chat – be appropriate
#3 Give hearts – double tap the screen
Search a video (People Icon)
#1 the first feed will tell you who is on periscope that you follow via Twitter
#2 search for people in the top left
Broadcast a video (Camera icon)
#1 write up a description, you can even add a #hashtag
#2 identify your settings – do you want to broadcast a “location”, to “specific people”, “publicly”,”tweet out your broadcast”.
My recommendation – use the location setting sparingly, the app sends a map out to the world where you are (sorta freaky).
#3 touch START BROADCAST, and you are up and running.
I will say there is some definite room for improvement in this app, a few items off the top of my head… I wish it was easier to: block users (FYI-I can’t stand gross people who just want to put garbage into the world – so lame), share and promote your link, finding broadcasts, see who is coming and going (watching). It’s not that you can’t do those things, but it’s a bit cumbersome … and here is an interesting idea … embedded broadcast channel for bloggers. So there, you go developers … some job security.
If I were running a business or had a particular event, I would promote this using my regular social media outlets … “I’ll be on periscope around noon if you want a behind the scenes look at…”. I know most would think … who wants to see this, believe me when I say there are more lurkers out there than you can imagine – and it really is a fun way to tunnel through time and space and just be there for a moment.
If you want to join me … check it out “@karmathenspoon” on Twitter and Periscope (my alter-ego as a mom/blogger/kitchen experimenter) – and give me a follow.
Drop a comment below if you get a chance to try it – I’d love to hear what you think about it. !
