Twitter Launches Live Streaming Video App Periscope

Twitter has launched its Periscope live streaming video app, which the company acquired earlier this year for a reported $100 million. The app lets users live-stream video from their phones to anyone who wants to watch, and is now a competitor to the popular Meerkat.

Live mobile video streaming has been talked about for many years, but is now gaining significant traction due to the fact that an increasingly large percentage of people have powerful smartphones with fast connections at their disposal. Now, by using Periscope, anyone can stream video in real-time over Twitter. The app is currently available for iOS, with an Android version reportedly coming in the future.

On Periscope, viewers can “heart” a video, which is the equivalent of “liking” something on Facebook, and can also type comments as they watch.

For businesses and brands, live streaming of video opens up a world of marketing possibilities. Although Periscope has just been launched, it’s already being tested out by several companies. For example, Spotify, the music-streaming service, offered a behind-the-scenes video with singer Conor O’Brien from the band Villagers.

Red Bull is another early adopter of the platform. The company is testing out Periscope during Miami Music Week, where it will live stream events that are happening at its Red Bull Guest House.

Periscope’s marketing possibilities are huge, and are only limited by the creativity of brands. Live streaming video can give consumers a specialized peek into events and business initiatives as they happen, such as launches of new products, in a dynamic nature that can increase the reach of brands quickly across social networks.

One way that Periscope is different from Meerkat is that the service offers broadcasters the ability to let viewers replay their stream when it is complete, whereas Meerkat takes a more ephemeral approach to live video. However, according to Meerkat founder Ben Rubin, the company may be adding a video archiving feature to its service soon.

Although services that stream live video have already been in existence for quite some time, it’s possible that Twitter’s global brand will be able to drive mass adoption to give Periscope staying power beyond what has been seen in the past. Additionally, with the rapidly growing number of smartphones in existence combined with faster and more reliable wireless networks, more people can easily use such a service now than could in the past.

Just how far could live streaming go in changing the way we view the world?

There is no question that the possibilities are massive. Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to President Obama, recently stated that he thinks that live streaming video services such as Periscope and Meerkat could have a great effect on the next presidential election. The services “could do to television what blogs did to newspapers by removing many of the financial and structural advantages of legacy media institutions,” he wrote.

Will car manufacturers start showing live streams of their new models in action?

Will we start to see live streams of self-driving car tests appearing on Periscope?

A wide spectrum of brands and businesses will surely start experimenting with Periscope to stream events and product launches, and it will be interesting to see the innovative ways that marketers develop to utilize live streaming of video in their campaigns in the coming period.