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meerkat-periscope

Meerkat and Periscope: What’s the Hype?

Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock this past month has heard about Meerkat and Periscope, a competitor created by Twitter. As the “breakout app” of SXSW being used by Mashable’s Pete Cashmore on a selfie stick walking around Austin and Julia Louis Dreyfus during her VEEP panel, Meerkat was hard to ignore. Now Periscope pretty much does the same thing and has stolen all of Meerkat’s thunder. So what do these apps do actually?

Remember when Charlie Sheen went all crazy with #winning and strippers and held a Ustream of him ranting? I remember – I am ashamed to say that I watched. If Meerkat or Periscope were around back then, Charlie likely would have used that instead. It is the mobile version of Ustream, allowing its users to live stream on the go. So why then is it so ridiculously popular if there was already a similar service? Well, first off they’re integrated with Twitter (Periscope is obviously more so integrated). In a nutshell, when you start streaming, a Tweet goes out. With Periscope, you have the added ability to be able to see reactions to your stream from Twitter embedded in the app. Also, if you think about it, no one has really improved upon the ability to live stream until now. Improvement, you ask? Meerkat allows you to record and schedule your stream for a later time, while Periscope allows users to save videos to replay them later.

So what’s all the hype about? Well, if you’re an everyday person who isn’t a celebrity, politician, or reporter, you aren’t likely to have a big viewership with Meerkat or Periscope. No one really cares what you have to say in real time. If you do happen to fall into one of those popular people categories, it’s the compelling content that is going to keep followers coming back (or maybe not? Here’s a live stream of a fridge at the Washington Post that’s quite popular. Maybe it’s just the big brand that keeps people watching… or the novelty?).

A big challenge for both Meerkat and Periscope as I see it (if either or both stay alive), is that in order to succeed, they really have to encourage the top-level influencers to keep the everyday user tuned in. Periscope may be the present day cool-kid app (Sorry Meerkat), but it’s more time consuming than a simple tweet or Instagram. So if the influencers get bored and don’t use it, the everyday user is going to peace out.

While the live video concept of Meerkat and Periscope is compelling and dramatic, the apps can only continue if both the influencer continues to stream interesting content and the user is available to consume it.

My final thought that I just can’t get around when it comes to streaming-type apps like this is this – who has time to watch live programming anymore? Didn’t God invent the DVR to get around what these apps offer? Even if it’s programmed content (from Meerkat) or a stream that you can save to watch later (from Periscope), I’m still not compelled to tune in at a certain time to be able to view or save the content.

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Vine: Will Instagram Kill the Video Star?

By Meredith Lorch

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Photo Credit: Gizmodo

All the foodie photos and selfie snapshots on your Instagram feed are about to be brought to life. Vine has largely dominated the video-sharing world in recent months, but Instagram has just added video features to its iPhone and Android apps, creating quite the buzz. The question is clear: does Video on Instagram mean the downfall of Vine?

Only time will tell whether Video on Instagram will outcompete its rival. Some continue to see real potential in Vine. Gary Vaynerchuk, a brand consultant and industry thought leader, is even creating a talent agency for Vine stars, called “Grape Story.” Despite this, it’s hard to believe that Vine will amount to anything more than a fad. While its novel six-second looping video format is initially charming, Vine’s brief, repetitive nature quickly becomes overwhelming. Add in the effect of camera shake and erratic Vines can be dizzying.

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Photo Credit: Tech Crunch

Both Vine and Video on Instagram employ a simple tap-and-hold-to-record feature, but Vine fails to capitalize on post-production features. The beauty of Instagram lies in the 13 brand new filters created exclusively for video—not to mention an image-stabilization tool called Cinema for capturing crisp, shake-free video. Users can also browse Instagram videos on a website—unlike Vine, which solely allows for video exploration within the app. Overall, Instagram’s new 15-second video capability allows users to share the adventure and splendor of their worlds unlike ever before, posing a serious threat to competitors.

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Photo Credit: ABC News

So what’s on the horizon? Rumor has it Instagram has potential for Google Glass integration. The possibilities are seemingly endless. With its latest update, Instagram has solidified its place as a classic sharing tool that is here to stay—and not just for the foodies.

Everywhere has a robust internship program and we invite our interns to participate by writing on our blog. Meredith Lorch is an intern from Emory University. She authored this blog post.

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Streaming Music: And The Beat Goes On

Music brings people together, connects them. So it’s only natural that the music scene would move to a digital venue.

This month, music streaming giant Pandora reached 200 million users, 100 million of which registered in less than two years! Upon this achievement, founder Tim Westergren stated that “radio is changing,” and he couldn’t be more correct.

Pandora has yet to implement major social features, but Swedish streaming service Spotify has made a huge splash in the US market after a successful launch in June 2011. The service is heavily integrated with Facebook and Twitter, at one point requiring a Fa1C6896377-TwitterMusic.streams_desktop_mediumcebook log-in to create an account.

We’re guessing Twitter caught wind of Spotify’s success, since today marks the launch of the Twitter Music app, confirmed after longtime rumors (and Ryan Seacrest blabbing about it!). TechCrunch speculates that this weekend’s launch coinciding with the Coachella Music Festival is no coincidence and is on the lookout for marketing at the festival.

It’s rumored that Twitter Music will be split into four tabs: “Suggested,” which consists of music based on who you’re following; “#NowPlaying,” which features songs tweeted by your friends with that hashtag; “Popular,” which displays trending songs throughout Twitter; and “Emerging,” which shows up and coming new music.

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Someone had better let MegaUpload’s Kim Dotcom know about Twitter’s big plans. His disembodied head made some big claims at this past SXSW in regards to music services – going so far as to claim he could take down iTunes.

Everywhere’s office playlist is a big deal, so we’re looking forward to trying out the new Twitter app! Check out some of our past 5:00 p.m. jam sessions here.

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What Happened in Vegas…#CES

The Everywhere team hit up Vegas last week for the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show where our client, Swagg showcased their mobile gift card app. To kick of the Mommy Tech Summit, Swagg & Everywhere had the pleasure of sponsoring the first ever ‘Ladies Who Tech’ breakfast presented by the Clever Girls Collective. 30 of the most influential women tech bloggers gathered at ‘Mon Ami Gabi’ for a delicious and energizing (despite the 7:45 am start:)) breakfast meet-up. Honorary male guests included Firethorn Communications Director Andy McGowan and Chip Fishburne, Vice President of Financial and Merchant Services for Swagg.

In what had started to feel like an endless sea of suits and gadgets, the “Ladies Who Tech” breakfast provided a rare opportunity to meet, greet and connect with women who share a passion for technology in all of it’s forms. Thank you to all who came out to help make the event the highlight of our CES experience!

For more pics from the event click here.