5 ms·

It's weird how these app fads go. I used to work for a company in Charleston, SC that has been doing live streaming for almost a year now (http://stre.am/ http:

by ryandvm 12y ago

It's weird how these app fads go. I used to work for a company in Charleston, SC that has been doing live streaming for almost a year now (http://stre.am/ http://stre.am/). They got some press out of SXSW, but without a voice in the Si Valley echo chamber, I suspect they're going to get crowded out.

iMark 12y ago
I think live video streaming for mobile is going to be far more than a fad. I believe we're very close to a tipping point, where all will take is a single high profile case (imagine someone live streaming an instance of police brutality for example) for the technology to reach a mass audience.
- ihuman 12y ago
  > someone live streaming an instance of police brutality Hasn't that been done for many instances already? People have been live streaming from Ferguson, Egypt, etc.
  - BYWallace 12y ago
    These new apps are bringing a much more streamlined, accessible method for anyone with a smartphone. People in Ferguson or Egypt likely had a more complex set-up or were posting pre-recorded footage.
    - djhunt 12y ago
      Maybe only more complex in that they cost $ to livestream, but I could sit in front of my Roku and watch multiple live streams of Ferguson protests on UStream.
- untog 12y ago
  imagine someone live streaming an instance of police brutality for example) What's the case for the "live" part, though? If you imagined everyone at a Ferguson protest live streaming their experience it would be utterly overwhelming. Much better instead for people to edit the sections that are actually interesting and post them to YouTube/LiveLeak/whatever. I don't see how livestreaming adds much.
  - duggan 12y ago
    The generalization of this point is "what's the case for live anything" which can be answered simply with "presence" or more broadly, shared experience. Sport is only the most obvious example. Why doesn't everyone just record and watch the game at their leisure? Or just get the highlights? Sure, those are options, but the enduring appeal of live sport points to there being more to it than just consumption of information.
    - untog 12y ago
      But the generalization of the point removes the point I was referring to. I'm not going to argue that live sports are popular for a reason, just that live watching a large number of people attending protests is less so.
      - dethstar 12y ago
        it doesn't have to be protests. Periscope for ESPN and watch the hosts betweeen quarters of some football game. Periscope for famous people and watch them go on stage or whatever. Periscope for you and let your family and friends meet your newborn asap.
        jetm9 12y ago
        Periscope for ESPN would be interesting. do the leageues allow that since you are essentially broadcasting the match/event?
      - duggan 12y ago
        I suspect the original commenter was just using a topical example, but ok, let's say it's protests. A very large number of people streaming might create a curation requirement, but that's all. You have someone reputable who is retweeting or directing people to the most useful feed (as happens already with breaking news events on Twitter). You end up watching someone having a dialog with a police officer, or in the middle of a rush, or something. You feel a greater sense of connection knowing that it is happening right now.
- PublicEnemy111 12y ago
  I think its pretty big everywhere else in the world. People in South Korea use it for "muk-bang"(watching pretty girls eat a TON of food) and Chinese use it for gaming(most gaming channels with 10k+ viewers are chinese channels). I assume Europe has a lot of gamers live stream channels, but the number must be dwarfed by Chinese. It's really interesting to see cultures evolving around this technology despite America's lag on adopting it.
- tmarthal 12y ago
  I always think of live streaming if I was ever in a plane crash.
- joezydeco 12y ago
  Or a couple hundred car crashes/fatalities. I've already seen two people try to stream from their driver's seat with the phone in one hand and the steering wheel in the other.
kmfrk 12y ago
Remember that Twitch.tv started out with a guy carrying a camera on his head and lifestreaming everything. Running a successful company depends on knowing which way the wind is blowing and adapt accordingly. The adoption of justin.tv for e-sport was a huge surprise, but Justin.tv were smart enough to catch on to the trend and adapt. That's also why the "ahead of their time" trope can be very misleading. -- Meerkat treated users incredibly disrespectfully, and I can't be bothered that a company might fold at the first sign of competition. It's not like Jaiku and Pownce weren't around at one point.
- ipedrazas 12y ago
  "Running a successful company depends on knowing which way the wind is blowing and adapt accordingly." So.True!
  - Domenic_S 12y ago
    iOS user detected (http://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/13/ios-8-3-space-bar-period-keyboard-fix/ http://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/13/ios-8-3-space-bar-period...)
- balls187 12y ago
  > Running a successful company depends on knowing which way the wind is blowing and adapt accordingly. We call that a pivot.
keslag 12y ago
Although I think connections help more than not, I think it's more nuanced than that. You have to have a story, something to convince people that they need your app. It has to capture peoples imagination, and it needs to be simple enough that the average user doesn't need to do anything to consume it. And the market needs to be ready for it. Too early is just as bad as too late.
nissehulth 12y ago
http://bambuser.com/ http://bambuser.com/ is another one that's been around for years now.
- msie 12y ago
  It already looks like a hassle to sign up. The onboarding for Periscope is so slick, they take advantage of your Twitter account for one-step signup. I was watching streams in mere seconds.
msie 12y ago
Yes, this is not an original idea at all. But the slick onboarding, clean interface and the promotion are making this a hit (Being on the front page of the Appstore is huge).

by ryandvm 12y ago

iMark 12y ago

I think live video streaming for mobile is going to be far more than a fad. I believe we're very close to a tipping point, where all will take is a single high profile case (imagine someone live streaming an instance of police brutality for example) for the technology to reach a mass audience.

ihuman 12y ago
> someone live streaming an instance of police brutality Hasn't that been done for many instances already? People have been live streaming from Ferguson, Egypt, etc.
- BYWallace 12y ago
  These new apps are bringing a much more streamlined, accessible method for anyone with a smartphone. People in Ferguson or Egypt likely had a more complex set-up or were posting pre-recorded footage.
  - djhunt 12y ago
    Maybe only more complex in that they cost $ to livestream, but I could sit in front of my Roku and watch multiple live streams of Ferguson protests on UStream.
untog 12y ago
imagine someone live streaming an instance of police brutality for example) What's the case for the "live" part, though? If you imagined everyone at a Ferguson protest live streaming their experience it would be utterly overwhelming. Much better instead for people to edit the sections that are actually interesting and post them to YouTube/LiveLeak/whatever. I don't see how livestreaming adds much.
- duggan 12y ago
  The generalization of this point is "what's the case for live anything" which can be answered simply with "presence" or more broadly, shared experience. Sport is only the most obvious example. Why doesn't everyone just record and watch the game at their leisure? Or just get the highlights? Sure, those are options, but the enduring appeal of live sport points to there being more to it than just consumption of information.
  - untog 12y ago
    But the generalization of the point removes the point I was referring to. I'm not going to argue that live sports are popular for a reason, just that live watching a large number of people attending protests is less so.
    - dethstar 12y ago
      it doesn't have to be protests. Periscope for ESPN and watch the hosts betweeen quarters of some football game. Periscope for famous people and watch them go on stage or whatever. Periscope for you and let your family and friends meet your newborn asap.
      - jetm9 12y ago
        Periscope for ESPN would be interesting. do the leageues allow that since you are essentially broadcasting the match/event?
    - duggan 12y ago
      I suspect the original commenter was just using a topical example, but ok, let's say it's protests. A very large number of people streaming might create a curation requirement, but that's all. You have someone reputable who is retweeting or directing people to the most useful feed (as happens already with breaking news events on Twitter). You end up watching someone having a dialog with a police officer, or in the middle of a rush, or something. You feel a greater sense of connection knowing that it is happening right now.
PublicEnemy111 12y ago
I think its pretty big everywhere else in the world. People in South Korea use it for "muk-bang"(watching pretty girls eat a TON of food) and Chinese use it for gaming(most gaming channels with 10k+ viewers are chinese channels). I assume Europe has a lot of gamers live stream channels, but the number must be dwarfed by Chinese. It's really interesting to see cultures evolving around this technology despite America's lag on adopting it.
tmarthal 12y ago
I always think of live streaming if I was ever in a plane crash.
joezydeco 12y ago
Or a couple hundred car crashes/fatalities. I've already seen two people try to stream from their driver's seat with the phone in one hand and the steering wheel in the other.

kmfrk 12y ago

Remember that Twitch.tv started out with a guy carrying a camera on his head and lifestreaming everything. Running a successful company depends on knowing which way the wind is blowing and adapt accordingly. The adoption of justin.tv for e-sport was a huge surprise, but Justin.tv were smart enough to catch on to the trend and adapt. That's also why the "ahead of their time" trope can be very misleading. -- Meerkat treated users incredibly disrespectfully, and I can't be bothered that a company might fold at the first sign of competition. It's not like Jaiku and Pownce weren't around at one point.

ipedrazas 12y ago
"Running a successful company depends on knowing which way the wind is blowing and adapt accordingly." So.True!
- Domenic_S 12y ago
  iOS user detected (http://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/13/ios-8-3-space-bar-period-keyboard-fix/ http://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/13/ios-8-3-space-bar-period...)
balls187 12y ago
> Running a successful company depends on knowing which way the wind is blowing and adapt accordingly. We call that a pivot.

keslag 12y ago

Although I think connections help more than not, I think it's more nuanced than that. You have to have a story, something to convince people that they need your app. It has to capture peoples imagination, and it needs to be simple enough that the average user doesn't need to do anything to consume it. And the market needs to be ready for it. Too early is just as bad as too late.

nissehulth 12y ago

http://bambuser.com/ http://bambuser.com/ is another one that's been around for years now.

msie 12y ago
It already looks like a hassle to sign up. The onboarding for Periscope is so slick, they take advantage of your Twitter account for one-step signup. I was watching streams in mere seconds.

msie 12y ago

Yes, this is not an original idea at all. But the slick onboarding, clean interface and the promotion are making this a hit (Being on the front page of the Appstore is huge).