Periscope is the live streaming app that was developed by Twitter in early 2015. It’s a unique platform that allows users to share their lives in real time, wherever they are, with anyone who wants to watch.
Unlike many other streaming platforms, Periscope is simple to use and completely free. Users simply download the Periscope app from the appstore of their choice, iTunes or Android, then sign up and sign in. If you already have a Twitter account, your followers who are also using the app will be imported to your Periscope app. If you don’t want to log in with your Twitter handle, you can use your phone number instead.
The app notifies you when one of your followers, or someone you choose to follow, is broadcasting live, and you can tune in. If you don’t know someone on Periscope, you can still watch selected live and pre-recorded videos. During live streaming, you can “like” a video by clicking on it, and a little colored heart will appear on the screen.
You can also comment on the videos, making it an interactive experience. Once the live broadcast ends, Periscope keeps the videos up for 24 hours so your followers can watch them if they missed the live version. They can even leave feedback, and you can simply save the videos to your mobile device and then upload them to your website or other social media platforms as you like.
Because Periscope is still a relatively new platform, there aren’t as many people on it as there are on Twitter, but that’s likely to change. As more people strive to share their interests, skills and lives with the rest of the world, it will likely grow to meet their needs.
The beauty of Periscope lies in its ease of use. You simply turn on the camera when you want to broadcast your activities, then turn it off when you’re done, and you have the ability to reach not only your followers, but curious users who stumble upon your broadcasts, too, since anyone can watch any public broadcast that is aired.
If a broadcast gets too busy, meaning too many people join in to watch and comment, the comments feature will only be made available to the early arrivers, and later viewers will not be allowed to comment.
If you want to restrict the people who can view your broadcasts, you can adjust the privacy level, hiding the location of the broadcast and restricting the viewers to your followers by selecting each one individually. This is perfect for hosting video courses or small group coaching sessions, since you can view the comments and reply in the live broadcast immediately.
Video is more mobile and interactive than ever before thanks to Periscope. It’s uses are really only limited by your imagination, and the terms and conditions of the app itself. Expect to see this app being used in lots of very different and creative ways in the next few years.
