12 ms·

Periscope by the Numbers

33 points by aaronbrethorst 11y ago

sreyaNotfilc 11y ago
Yes, Periscope is getting huge. I feel this platform is very cool and can fulfill many niches along with Meerkat. For example, I could learn/communicate from/with an expert on a subject or just hangout with someone famous (Kevin Hart). I even watched an entire wedding (from planning to the event to the after party) thanks to Amanda Oleander (I think she's the top Periscoper right now). Personally, it can also broaden your horizon, especially for shy people like me. I'm using the platform to learn broadcasting techniques and to showcase my artwork (@artJutsu). I'm horrible at it, but I feel I'm getting more comfortable with my public speaking because of it. When you broadcast you are LIVE and have to think on your feet to keep things interesting. This is much different than non-streaming social media because you can create the most perfect instance of yourself/business. I would love to see how this product develops further. I don't think it will be a replacement for Youtube or Twitter, but more of an enhancement of your current social paradigm.
- minimaxir 11y ago
  > I feel this platform is very cool and can fulfill many niches along with Meerkat The success of Periscope and Meerkat are mutually exclusive. While Periscope has topped the Social Networking category in the App Store, Meerkat has been gradually losing ranking since Periscope's inflection point at the end of May, according to App Annie: http://i.imgur.com/b51Wpm2.png http://i.imgur.com/b51Wpm2.png No, "YOU CAN GUEST IN ANOTHER LIVESTREAM ZOMG XD" is not sufficient feature differentiation. The space will become tragedy-of-the-commonsed once both YouTube and Facebook release dedicated livestreaming apps; and both are currently in limited release.
  - sreyaNotfilc 11y ago
    "YOU CAN GUEST IN ANOTHER LIVESTREAM ZOMG XD" Yeah, I don't understand the mentality of "but we have xyz feature"! Its rather tacky and I'm not sure if it ever worked. There's a reason why Meerkat has fallen out of favor and its not because of a single feature. Periscope has what "304 million monthly active users" potential users because of Twitter alone. That's hughmongous! Also, the name Meerkat is not fun. Reminds me of a Ferret for some reason. Facebook has already released live streaming for celebs. Once that catches on, Periscope will be reserved to just another feature that Twitter uses. No one's going to win. Its just an enhancement of a service that's long due. I do think, however, that the Meerkat boys will be fine. They can just have FB write them a check and be acquired (which I believe was the intent anyway). Twitter on the other hand, if used wisely, may help their business model since more and more people will be active on their platform because someone's on there acting interesting. (Expect to see 1,000,000 #WSHH tags on Periscope soon.)
    - 6stringmerc 11y ago
      I also see Facebook's competition with YouTube and the issue of "Freebooting" somewhat tempering the adoption of YouTube. Also, for music minded folks, Apple Connect might still hold more sway than Facebook. Then over on the side there's Vine. I see all these as competing, but not necessarily for the same audiences. Will be interested in the next developments and to see how the market share plays out.
    - sreyaNotfilc 11y ago
      @6stringmerc Facebook is trying its hardest to not be Facebook. Its purpose as a platform has morphed drastically from its original intent, And that's fine. Heck, I would do the same. I do see the practice of Freebooting as an issue, but nothing that will break them. They have way too many people who does it and (worse) way too many people who are either uninformed or just don't care. So, really I feel its going to happen for all eternity. That said, I'm surprised that Facebook hasn't branched out and became its own entertainment hub. FacebookNews, FacebookFilm, FacebookShop, Facebook...Books lol. They certainly have the cash to do so an make it happen. Maybe that's what they are working on as we speak.
6stringmerc 11y ago
That's a pretty helpful write-up, because I think the value in Periscope is the marketing angle to a wide, international audience. In my experience, there's a first "wave" of adopters that get to front-run the pack and build momentum. As in, earlier webpages (Maddox) or YouTube acts (Gregory Brothers) rose up when the signal to noise was still pretty good. My view is there's a natural tipping point with any service / platform like Periscope. After studying and forming opinions about various outlets, I'm pretty happy to be on Periscope, and I don't think I'll get on Meerkat or jump at the chance to do a Facebook live stream. As explained in the article, the viewers through the app or through the web enable people to pick an avenue they prefer, and I think that's a strength. Periscope reminds me of the fun of ChatRoulette without the hazardous free-for-all setup. With the continually shifting avenues for marketing and performance streaming (Periscope, Tidal, etc) there's a lot of opportunity for mid-tier acts to have a chance at a wider audience. Is it wise to spam every service? No, but getting a foothold in the ones with a decent return on time invested does seem reasonable, even if that list is about 10 sites long. Managing a digital footprint is pretty cool these days...a long way from sharing MIDI files over 56k modems haha
jordigg 11y ago
Periscope had a great start, support very early on from investors, influencers and was bought by Twitter before going live, that helped explode the app from day 0. Something that did hurt Meerkat a lot was being cut off from the Twitter API something that became pretty normal on several apps that started getting traction. Periscope acquisition by Twitter seems to have slowed them down on launching new features, but I have to say that their app and streaming works better than Meerkat and numbers don't lie. They are doing a great job. Meerkat is great at innovating and moving fast. The "Cameo" feature looks really cool. Everyone thought they were going to be bought by Facebook, but they just launched their own app for famous people and journalists (at least at the beginning to try it out). Let's see how this space evolves once Facebook releases the app to the public and Google starts doing the same using Youtube.
- napolesmarble 11y ago
  "Google starts doing the same using youtube" is that confirmed or you feel inevitable?
  - volaski 11y ago
    google already has live streaming. They do it here and there, like music festivals, etc.
  - jordigg 11y ago
    I think is the natural choice. Their social network "Google+" failed, they are now implementing live streaming for games (after laughing about Twitch[1]) and already offer live hangouts. I'm sure the next step is to use Youtube ala Periscope/Meerkat, maybe with a standalone app. If they want to keep their influencers and Youtube pros they should offer this functionality to them but Facebook is ahead now. [1]https://twitter.com/justinkan/status/580524413604478976 https://twitter.com/justinkan/status/580524413604478976
applecore 11y ago
What happened in the last week of May 2015 that caused the huge uptick in growth?
- hrayr 11y ago
  Android app launched. More people should probably launch with Android first, seemed like iOS was flatlining.
anotherangrydev 11y ago
Twitter ripped off Meerkat. That's all I will ever see to this story. I don't care how succesfully they may be or become. Disclaimer: I don't work for Meerkat. It's just the way it is. Twitter deserves every bad bit of luck they are getting lately.
- volaski 11y ago
  I am fine with haters who've done their homework before passionately hating, but you are not one of them.
- awwstn 11y ago
  If you do something new and it's popular and shows potential to be a big business, other people will compete with you; that's how markets work. Some of those people will try to innovate and out-pace you, and others will simply copy you. Some will be scrappy startups, and others will have deeper pockets than you; that's inevitable. When Facebook launches streaming video, should we be angry at them since they have way more money/users than Twitter, and because Twitter did it first? If Meerkat has built something defensible, then they'll be fine. If not, nobody should expect them to just be deemed the only company that can do streaming video. During Twitter's history, many people tried to pop up and knock them down to take the lead - but Twitter was tenacious and had an awesome product, and they won. It's a long game and Meerkat can still win it. If one early competitor is enough to crush them, then they probably weren't going to make it anyway.
  - FilterSweep 11y ago
    Honest question, then what's the point of innovating, if Google, Facebook, or Twitter can simply copy your idea with an unlimited reach?
    - 6stringmerc 11y ago
      Well, back when I was first starting to understand computing (Pentium II days), the phrase we always kicked around was "Do something great that Microsoft is terrible at, then wait for them to buy you out." That kinda-sorta applies in this scenario.

Yes, Periscope is getting huge. I feel this platform is very cool and can fulfill many niches along with Meerkat. For example, I could learn/communicate from/with an expert on a subject or just hangout with someone famous (Kevin Hart). I even watched an entire wedding (from planning to the event to the after party) thanks to Amanda Oleander (I think she's the top Periscoper right now). Personally, it can also broaden your horizon, especially for shy people like me. I'm using the platform to learn broadcasting techniques and to showcase my artwork (@artJutsu). I'm horrible at it, but I feel I'm getting more comfortable with my public speaking because of it. When you broadcast you are LIVE and have to think on your feet to keep things interesting. This is much different than non-streaming social media because you can create the most perfect instance of yourself/business. I would love to see how this product develops further. I don't think it will be a replacement for Youtube or Twitter, but more of an enhancement of your current social paradigm.

minimaxir 11y ago
> I feel this platform is very cool and can fulfill many niches along with Meerkat The success of Periscope and Meerkat are mutually exclusive. While Periscope has topped the Social Networking category in the App Store, Meerkat has been gradually losing ranking since Periscope's inflection point at the end of May, according to App Annie: http://i.imgur.com/b51Wpm2.png http://i.imgur.com/b51Wpm2.png No, "YOU CAN GUEST IN ANOTHER LIVESTREAM ZOMG XD" is not sufficient feature differentiation. The space will become tragedy-of-the-commonsed once both YouTube and Facebook release dedicated livestreaming apps; and both are currently in limited release.
- sreyaNotfilc 11y ago
  "YOU CAN GUEST IN ANOTHER LIVESTREAM ZOMG XD" Yeah, I don't understand the mentality of "but we have xyz feature"! Its rather tacky and I'm not sure if it ever worked. There's a reason why Meerkat has fallen out of favor and its not because of a single feature. Periscope has what "304 million monthly active users" potential users because of Twitter alone. That's hughmongous! Also, the name Meerkat is not fun. Reminds me of a Ferret for some reason. Facebook has already released live streaming for celebs. Once that catches on, Periscope will be reserved to just another feature that Twitter uses. No one's going to win. Its just an enhancement of a service that's long due. I do think, however, that the Meerkat boys will be fine. They can just have FB write them a check and be acquired (which I believe was the intent anyway). Twitter on the other hand, if used wisely, may help their business model since more and more people will be active on their platform because someone's on there acting interesting. (Expect to see 1,000,000 #WSHH tags on Periscope soon.)
  - 6stringmerc 11y ago
    I also see Facebook's competition with YouTube and the issue of "Freebooting" somewhat tempering the adoption of YouTube. Also, for music minded folks, Apple Connect might still hold more sway than Facebook. Then over on the side there's Vine. I see all these as competing, but not necessarily for the same audiences. Will be interested in the next developments and to see how the market share plays out.
  - sreyaNotfilc 11y ago
    @6stringmerc Facebook is trying its hardest to not be Facebook. Its purpose as a platform has morphed drastically from its original intent, And that's fine. Heck, I would do the same. I do see the practice of Freebooting as an issue, but nothing that will break them. They have way too many people who does it and (worse) way too many people who are either uninformed or just don't care. So, really I feel its going to happen for all eternity. That said, I'm surprised that Facebook hasn't branched out and became its own entertainment hub. FacebookNews, FacebookFilm, FacebookShop, Facebook...Books lol. They certainly have the cash to do so an make it happen. Maybe that's what they are working on as we speak.

6stringmerc 11y ago

That's a pretty helpful write-up, because I think the value in Periscope is the marketing angle to a wide, international audience. In my experience, there's a first "wave" of adopters that get to front-run the pack and build momentum. As in, earlier webpages (Maddox) or YouTube acts (Gregory Brothers) rose up when the signal to noise was still pretty good. My view is there's a natural tipping point with any service / platform like Periscope. After studying and forming opinions about various outlets, I'm pretty happy to be on Periscope, and I don't think I'll get on Meerkat or jump at the chance to do a Facebook live stream. As explained in the article, the viewers through the app or through the web enable people to pick an avenue they prefer, and I think that's a strength. Periscope reminds me of the fun of ChatRoulette without the hazardous free-for-all setup. With the continually shifting avenues for marketing and performance streaming (Periscope, Tidal, etc) there's a lot of opportunity for mid-tier acts to have a chance at a wider audience. Is it wise to spam every service? No, but getting a foothold in the ones with a decent return on time invested does seem reasonable, even if that list is about 10 sites long. Managing a digital footprint is pretty cool these days...a long way from sharing MIDI files over 56k modems haha

jordigg 11y ago

Periscope had a great start, support very early on from investors, influencers and was bought by Twitter before going live, that helped explode the app from day 0. Something that did hurt Meerkat a lot was being cut off from the Twitter API something that became pretty normal on several apps that started getting traction. Periscope acquisition by Twitter seems to have slowed them down on launching new features, but I have to say that their app and streaming works better than Meerkat and numbers don't lie. They are doing a great job. Meerkat is great at innovating and moving fast. The "Cameo" feature looks really cool. Everyone thought they were going to be bought by Facebook, but they just launched their own app for famous people and journalists (at least at the beginning to try it out). Let's see how this space evolves once Facebook releases the app to the public and Google starts doing the same using Youtube.

napolesmarble 11y ago
"Google starts doing the same using youtube" is that confirmed or you feel inevitable?
- volaski 11y ago
  google already has live streaming. They do it here and there, like music festivals, etc.
- jordigg 11y ago
  I think is the natural choice. Their social network "Google+" failed, they are now implementing live streaming for games (after laughing about Twitch[1]) and already offer live hangouts. I'm sure the next step is to use Youtube ala Periscope/Meerkat, maybe with a standalone app. If they want to keep their influencers and Youtube pros they should offer this functionality to them but Facebook is ahead now. [1]https://twitter.com/justinkan/status/580524413604478976 https://twitter.com/justinkan/status/580524413604478976

applecore 11y ago

What happened in the last week of May 2015 that caused the huge uptick in growth?

hrayr 11y ago
Android app launched. More people should probably launch with Android first, seemed like iOS was flatlining.

anotherangrydev 11y ago

Twitter ripped off Meerkat. That's all I will ever see to this story. I don't care how succesfully they may be or become. Disclaimer: I don't work for Meerkat. It's just the way it is. Twitter deserves every bad bit of luck they are getting lately.

volaski 11y ago
I am fine with haters who've done their homework before passionately hating, but you are not one of them.
awwstn 11y ago
If you do something new and it's popular and shows potential to be a big business, other people will compete with you; that's how markets work. Some of those people will try to innovate and out-pace you, and others will simply copy you. Some will be scrappy startups, and others will have deeper pockets than you; that's inevitable. When Facebook launches streaming video, should we be angry at them since they have way more money/users than Twitter, and because Twitter did it first? If Meerkat has built something defensible, then they'll be fine. If not, nobody should expect them to just be deemed the only company that can do streaming video. During Twitter's history, many people tried to pop up and knock them down to take the lead - but Twitter was tenacious and had an awesome product, and they won. It's a long game and Meerkat can still win it. If one early competitor is enough to crush them, then they probably weren't going to make it anyway.
- FilterSweep 11y ago
  Honest question, then what's the point of innovating, if Google, Facebook, or Twitter can simply copy your idea with an unlimited reach?
  - 6stringmerc 11y ago
    Well, back when I was first starting to understand computing (Pentium II days), the phrase we always kicked around was "Do something great that Microsoft is terrible at, then wait for them to buy you out." That kinda-sorta applies in this scenario.