Growing trend of live streaming mobile apps: Meerkat vs. Periscope

With the introduction of mobile applications, the world has truly become a smaller place. Nothing is limited to a particular area as these applications have created a world without borders.

People across the globe are having conversations about topics that are of common interest. One can experience, share and comment on the culture, events and live happenings across the world from the comfort of their phone. Live streaming mobile applications enable users to share their live video streams with others in real time. This is a growing trend among the digital space. Apps like Vine and SnapChat enable users to make short videos and share it with others albeit only for a few seconds but lack the live streaming feature.

Recently, two brand new applications christened Meerkat and Periscope have arrived on the marketplace which take video streaming to the next level. They can be looked as the two hottest ‘trending’ video mobile apps of the 2015 and both of them rely heavily on Twitter. Meerkat instantly streams live videos on Twitter and encourages conversations about the same. It allows you to find trending users and interesting events taking place around the world. It is extremely user friendly as you just need to click on the stream option on your app once and your live streaming begins immediately. On the other hand, Periscope is a free live streaming app wherein you just give the app permission to access your camera and microphone. You get an option to choose whether to showcase your location or not and you’re good to go! The major difference between the apps is that Periscope is owned by Twitter itself which means there are notable differences in the access the Periscope has to Twitter features as compared to Meerkat!

Such applications create a sense of intrigue in the potential user base and this leads to a large number of downloads. Social media is granting the youth more accessibility and a sense of power with these apps. Over a period of time, Meerkat has managed to amass over 500,000 users but Periscope is quickly catching up. It is important to note that Periscope has 3 times the number of influencers that Meerkat does and there is only a 4% overlap in the user base of the two apps Social media by nature is very impulsive as it makes its users impulsive as well as an addict. Examples of such applications are Facebook, Twitter, Chat On, SnapChat, WhatsApp etc. which is present in almost all smart phone users.

When we get in to comparison with the two trending apps Meerkat and Periscope; it would make you more impulsive and irresistible to use these apps. Meerkat allows streaming in real time but if you missed watching the video streamed live then you can’t view it again; Periscope allows the users to save the live streamed videos and then watch it again as often desired. Additionally, Meerkat is strictly about posting videos online it doesn’t allow users to have their personal info such as their name or profile picture whereas Periscope allows the users to upload their personal information and also has multiple tabs running across the bottom. Meerkat allows users to ‘like’ the live stream and Periscope consists of animated hearts for liking the stream.

With the arrival of these two promising apps, top brands and celebrities have shown their savvy for them. These include Red Bull, Billboard, and CNN as well as personalities like Jeb Bush and Jimmy Fallon. Some of these entities have them very efficiently for reaching their target audience. Mountain Dew, High Street Phoenix and Spotify have also opted for Periscope to market their products.

Meerkat and Periscope are still establishing a position and creating awareness in the market. It can be said that we are in the consolidation phase and it remains to be seen where they stand when the dust settles. They are both highly capable of having a sustained engagement with their users. Meerkat and Periscope are constantly striving to stand out of the social media clutter and gain an insightful outreach.