First came Twitter’s Periscope. Then Facebook Live. Now comes full live video streaming again from Twitter.
Users now have the option of broadcasting straight from Twitter. Periscope will not be needed.
As reported in Fortune, Tweeters need not download the Periscope app.
The process seems easy to execute. Users can access the live feed by clicking on the “compose new tweet” link. Then click on the “live” button. A pre-streaming frame will then appear.
When ready, a user can hit the “go live” button. As with other applications watchers can interact by sending comments and hearts.
The future of Periscope is unclear. Twitter acquired the video service in 2014. The next March, following the success of Meerkat, the now defunct live video company, Periscope was launched with a great degree of fanfare.
The social media company is trying to find greater footing in video. Periscope was actually preceded by Vine. Remember the seven second video looping application? Twitter never gave it a huge push and shut it down in October, 2016.
Twitter’s video platforms are facing stiff competition from Facebook Live. According to The Wall Street Journal , Facebook is paying more than $50 million to celebrities and publishers to broadcast videos and maintain a high level of notoriety for the service.
No separate app is needed for Facebook Live and Twitter seems to be following their lead. But is video losing its fancy?
According to The Verge , Facebook published a list of most watched year-end videos. While “Chewbacca Mom”, Candace Payne, made a huge impact at number one, the number ten spot has 88 per cent fewer views.
Periscope is still in development according to a spokesperson for the company in The Verge article. The spokesperson indicated an education process is still needed with potential broadcasters.
She said more people need not be afraid of airing their opinion or sharing their feelings. In all it can add up to better understanding among individuals.
To Twitter’s advantage, users may find it more exciting to watch videos of people they follow on Twitter than those of friends or distant relatives on Facebook.
It also seems more efficient to shift from standard messaging on Twitter to an integrated video application that is now easy to use.
Many television stations are now airing video broadcasts and news segments on Facebook Live. Why not shift to Twitter or at least utilize both platforms?
The option to turn every individual into some sort of broadcaster has its merits. Live video has its place and can be educational, entertaining and amusing.
Many platforms now feature video applications including Instagram, owned by Facebook, and Snapchat.
Yet the need for more of the same may soon reach its peak. While Twitter’s integrated video will certainly draw users, and may shift many away from other applications, it remains to be seen if Twitter can add to the real growth of live broadcasting or merely survive in a highly crowded universe of real-time players.