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I really like Periscope. It's clean, fun, and there is a lot of potential, especially with their Twitter distribution. Tried it out this morning and it was real

I really like Periscope. It's clean, fun, and there is a lot of potential, especially with their Twitter distribution. Tried it out this morning and it was really smooth. Meerkat is great too, but clearly has an uphill battle for the next few months after the initial hype. They certainly have passionate initial fans though. I'd be curious to see with Facebook's dedication to video, especially highlighted at F8, if they would consider swooping up Meerkat right now and offer distribution through their ecosystems. This might just be me, but I have Twitter streaming all day, while I check Facebook maybe 2-3 times sporadically, so it might be a bit tougher to capture attention. But who knows, it will be really fascinating to watch. I'm assuming Grelock, their recent series B lead, would not be interested in selling so soon after their investment for anything less than 2x. Post-valuation was $52M, probably a few buyers out there at that price but who knows(Full details on their Series B: http://i.imgur.com/9zOonad.png http://i.imgur.com/9zOonad.png)

sholanozie 12y ago
Yeah, this is going to be big. I wasn't convinced, but after actually tuning into a couple of broadcasts, Periscope's potential became immediately apparent.
deveac 12y ago
>Meerkat is great too, but clearly has an uphill battle for the next few months after the initial hype. I wonder about nuances of engagement on Periscope vs. Meerkat. Periscope's saved video is touted as a feature, but I've noticed that because Meerkat does not give me this option, when I get a notification for a stream I want to watch, I hustle to engage because it's live and I don't want to miss it. I have not used Periscope yet and will be checking it out, but I can absolutely envision a scenario where I get a Pscope notification and ignore it because there really is no urgency as it will be there later. And then those streams end up like just another article in my "read-it-later" apps. Saved and then forgotten because I've moved on, and the promise of what could be in that stream just isn't compelling enough to chase it down later. Saved video is what we already have everywhere all of the time. My guess is that Meerkat's inability to save the stream could be the killer feature.
- MrAlmostWrong 12y ago
  While I can see why Meerkat providing the option not to save as a feature it is also its greatest frustration. My success rate of actually viewing a Meerkat stream before it gets taken offline is maybe 20%. As I saw on Twitter the other day, Meerkat is great at letting you know you are too late to view a Meerkat stream.
- semasad 12y ago
  I think Periscope is the way of Twitter to counteract Meerkat. They have fear to Meerkat make the same that Instagram made with the photos.
- pbreit 12y ago
  I think there's a happy medium. My experience has been the opposite: I have never managed to show up on time for a Meerkat so the experience was worse than horrendous. I understand what you're saying about the artificial ephemorality being important to the dynamics, tho. I'd try to find some happy medium where speed is encouraged but content is still available for a short period for us mere mortals.
- untog 12y ago
  That's not a feature, that's a limitation that forces you to change your behaviour. It's forcing user engagement. And when I see a Meerkat feed I missed I'm just annoyed (especially as I expect it to be live when I tap the tweet) - I'm much happier being able to see a replay on periscope.
  - hendzen 12y ago
    > That's not a feature, that's a limitation that forces you to change your behaviour. ... Like, say, limiting tweets to 140 chars?
    - untog 12y ago
      IIRC the original reason for that was because of the length of a text message, so it was a technical restriction more than anything.
thewhizkid 12y ago
I wonder if Greylock had heard anything about the Twitter/Periscope deal before investing in Meerkat. For a VC firm that is as well-connected as Greylock, you would think they would have known something or at least aware of Periscope's existence and objectively superior platform. Nothing indicates to me that they did, which seems like incredibly poor due diligence on their part if true.
- sharkweek 12y ago
  It would seem pretty unlikely for Josh Elman, an early employee at Twitter, to not have caught wind of the deal, but who knows. I'm guessing they still saw (and see) potential for Meerkat, as one day of buzz for Periscope does not a successful product make. Plenty of ways to compete still, it just got a bit harder.
  - thewhizkid 12y ago
    People keep making comparisons to other social networks, but in this case the two products are way too similar to coexist. Influencers will decide what platform they like best. You can't exactly do a simultaneous broadcast on both apps at the same time. Just seems like if you were in the loop it would have been an unnecessary risk to invest now without waiting to see how the market responded to a Goliath competitive offer.
    - mtrimpe 12y ago
      Unless you think it's a winner-takes-all market that's ripe for the plucking and believe you need to be first to even have a shot at capturing it.
- fludlight 12y ago
  Literally every entrepreneur thinks his startup has the best $X. In this regard, the signal to noise ratio at any VC is abysmal.
SCdF 12y ago
> This might just be me, but I have Twitter streaming all day Good lord, how do you get any work done? I have Twitter and FB relegated to my phone only, and I try to check HN ~twice a day maximum. The internet is too large and too interesting, if I'm not careful I'll just get sucked under.

sholanozie 12y ago

Yeah, this is going to be big. I wasn't convinced, but after actually tuning into a couple of broadcasts, Periscope's potential became immediately apparent.

deveac 12y ago

>Meerkat is great too, but clearly has an uphill battle for the next few months after the initial hype. I wonder about nuances of engagement on Periscope vs. Meerkat. Periscope's saved video is touted as a feature, but I've noticed that because Meerkat does not give me this option, when I get a notification for a stream I want to watch, I hustle to engage because it's live and I don't want to miss it. I have not used Periscope yet and will be checking it out, but I can absolutely envision a scenario where I get a Pscope notification and ignore it because there really is no urgency as it will be there later. And then those streams end up like just another article in my "read-it-later" apps. Saved and then forgotten because I've moved on, and the promise of what could be in that stream just isn't compelling enough to chase it down later. Saved video is what we already have everywhere all of the time. My guess is that Meerkat's inability to save the stream could be the killer feature.

MrAlmostWrong 12y ago
While I can see why Meerkat providing the option not to save as a feature it is also its greatest frustration. My success rate of actually viewing a Meerkat stream before it gets taken offline is maybe 20%. As I saw on Twitter the other day, Meerkat is great at letting you know you are too late to view a Meerkat stream.
semasad 12y ago
I think Periscope is the way of Twitter to counteract Meerkat. They have fear to Meerkat make the same that Instagram made with the photos.
pbreit 12y ago
I think there's a happy medium. My experience has been the opposite: I have never managed to show up on time for a Meerkat so the experience was worse than horrendous. I understand what you're saying about the artificial ephemorality being important to the dynamics, tho. I'd try to find some happy medium where speed is encouraged but content is still available for a short period for us mere mortals.
untog 12y ago
That's not a feature, that's a limitation that forces you to change your behaviour. It's forcing user engagement. And when I see a Meerkat feed I missed I'm just annoyed (especially as I expect it to be live when I tap the tweet) - I'm much happier being able to see a replay on periscope.
- hendzen 12y ago
  > That's not a feature, that's a limitation that forces you to change your behaviour. ... Like, say, limiting tweets to 140 chars?
  - untog 12y ago
    IIRC the original reason for that was because of the length of a text message, so it was a technical restriction more than anything.

thewhizkid 12y ago

I wonder if Greylock had heard anything about the Twitter/Periscope deal before investing in Meerkat. For a VC firm that is as well-connected as Greylock, you would think they would have known something or at least aware of Periscope's existence and objectively superior platform. Nothing indicates to me that they did, which seems like incredibly poor due diligence on their part if true.

sharkweek 12y ago
It would seem pretty unlikely for Josh Elman, an early employee at Twitter, to not have caught wind of the deal, but who knows. I'm guessing they still saw (and see) potential for Meerkat, as one day of buzz for Periscope does not a successful product make. Plenty of ways to compete still, it just got a bit harder.
- thewhizkid 12y ago
  People keep making comparisons to other social networks, but in this case the two products are way too similar to coexist. Influencers will decide what platform they like best. You can't exactly do a simultaneous broadcast on both apps at the same time. Just seems like if you were in the loop it would have been an unnecessary risk to invest now without waiting to see how the market responded to a Goliath competitive offer.
  - mtrimpe 12y ago
    Unless you think it's a winner-takes-all market that's ripe for the plucking and believe you need to be first to even have a shot at capturing it.
fludlight 12y ago
Literally every entrepreneur thinks his startup has the best $X. In this regard, the signal to noise ratio at any VC is abysmal.

SCdF 12y ago

> This might just be me, but I have Twitter streaming all day Good lord, how do you get any work done? I have Twitter and FB relegated to my phone only, and I try to check HN ~twice a day maximum. The internet is too large and too interesting, if I'm not careful I'll just get sucked under.