There is no doubt that Canadian’s love using new technologies especially if it comes as a free app that can be installed onto their portable devices. Statistics show that 1 in 3 Canadians won’t let a single day go by without checking into their social media feeds telling us that social media giants like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have a true grip in our lives. So when Twitter announces the purchase and acquisition of a new app to live stream video to the world called Periscope for an estimated 100 million then that would only mean the birth of a new social media tech trend.
Periscope, Twitter’s new live streaming app allows users to broadcast live video from their smartphone cameras using either wifi or their cellular data plan to any of your twitter followers, either publicly or privately. The app essentially gives the average person a complete broadcasting studio on their phone.
With all of that in mind, live streaming is really not a new form of technology since it has been used for years by companies like JustinTV, UStream, YouTube Live, and Live Stream. However, thanks to Twitter’s considerable grip in our social lives and their enormous marketing push for the app, it quickly asserted itself as a rival to an existing app called Meerkat; a similar live streaming app introduced at the SXSW festival in late March. Celebrities including Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have already jumped on the live streaming bandwagon, giving fans a live backstage look at their productions along with live interviews they did during this technology-related festival in Austin Texas.
Well, it looks like a combination of faster cell phone connection speeds, the proliferation of smartphones and, most important, people’s general acceptance of sharing their personal lives, (thanks to social media) has paved the way for live-streaming to take off. It seems like people are more wiling to express themselves and show their face and spread it publicly and it looks like social media has made it OK to quickly throw things out there and be less cautious about it. With communications moving faster than ever, live-streaming is the next natural step and for many organisations and users; though that can be good and bad.
Well, all things taken in consideration, Periscope, and live streaming in general has the potential to revolutionise news and journalism. Take for instance the recent New York building explosion and blaze was broadcast live within seconds on Periscope by one of the residents fleeing the building. No news team could ever obtain live footage that quick. Also too, like Skype or Facetime, it can help reconnect families, livestream weddings, birthdays, graduations to relatives making the world just that much smaller.
Be that as it may, there is a price to pay for such immediate, unscripted, and uncensored technology. For instance, initially Periscope users seemed to be obsessed with streaming the inside of their fridges, something I’m guessing was not what the developer had in mind therefore making it hard to spot interesting and informative information. Also, too, because of it’s live nature, it’s impossible to edit out any inappropriate video especially if streaming in an uncontrolled environment much like the New York explosion I mentioned earlier. And what one person considers appropriate might not be by another.
Also too, users should keep in mind that streaming video for any length of time will end up using up your data. We already spend a huge time on our smartphones streaming video and music, and synching our apps. Periscope will only add to the strain.
And finally, there are many legal ramifications especially when it comes to live streaming and how would it affect live sporting events. For example, if someone livestreams an NHL hockey game to its many thousands or millions of Twitter followers even though that right has already been sold to media organizations . So, I’m not too sure if there are enough safeguards put into place yet to cover all the potential hazards apps like Periscope or Meerkat’s live-streaming can cause but I’m sure they will find their way into our homes and lives the same way all the other social media apps like Facebook Messenger or Vine found.
Please note that anyone interested in using Periscope to keep in mind that the app’s public default setting allows anyone to watch and leave a comment while you stream so you might want to check that setting before you begin live-streaming.
