Twitter has launched Periscope, its new live-video streaming app for iOS. The app was under development even before Periscope was acquired by Twitter in January.
Periscope vs. Meerkat
One thing to note is that the Twitter and Periscope experiences will remain separate even after the apps are installed, according to Periscope co-founder Kayvon Beykpour, who said, “You won’t be able to launch Periscope directly from the Twitter app, at least not for a while.”
Now that Twitter has launched its new video streaming app, the next thing that comes to mind is Meerkat, its arch rival. Both video-streaming apps – Periscope and Meerkat — are very much similar to each other and equally good in terms of streaming speed.
Minor differences make Periscope seem like a slightly better version of Meerkat. The app is not only cleaner than Meerkat but also comes with a chat function that is much more sensible. It also offers its customers an option of saving videos to be viewed later on. The outstanding feature of the Periscope app is that it allows users to create a lineup of shots before they begin streaming videos. This feature is not available with Meerkat, says a report from The Next Web by Roberto Baldwin.
Could Twitter backing help Periscope?
Despite all these pluses with the Twitter app, Meerkat has no reason to worry at all as it already has popularity and users. Also it has a specific term named for it for video streaming, which is “Meerkatting.” Meerkat has the first mover advantage, and this will help it remain ahead of its competitors, including Periscope, for quite some time. Even though Twitter is one of the largest social media companies in the world, it will not be easy for Periscope to compete with Meerkat, says Baldwin.
The war between Periscope and Meerkat could be similar to the one between Snapchat and Facebook’s Slingshot. Even though Slingshot offered more to users, Snapchat always remained ahead. However, Baldwin’s report notes that things might change this time, and the better app could prevail. Periscope is undoubtedly better than Meerkatt, and therefore, it might win the race with more momentum offered from Twitter.
