The endless feed of GIFs, links, embedded videos and photos can get a little stale on Twitter. It may not be your everyday go-to like Facebook, but the social media platform has proven itself basically better than today’s newsrooms with its ability to get the conversation started and ignited. Unfortunately, live video streaming hasn’t been implemented (weird, especially considering the company’s current emphasis on video). Since Twitter is dragging its feet on a live stream feature, a new app called Meerkat decided to do it — and this download is a legitimate game changer.
The just-launched Meerkat, a desktop and iOS app, gives you the ability to live stream your life at the click of a button to anyone interested, whether you’re just sitting at home playing with your pet or attending a conference like Re:Make. So basically, there’s no need for Stories on Snapchat anymore, right?
The process for sharing your real-time moments is super simple. After opening Meerkat, all you do is decide if you’re diving right in and clicking the “Stream” button immediately or giving yourself a little time to prep and schedule a broadcast. Once you make that decision, you can give your stream a name and then a tweet will be automatically sent out, alerting all your followers (fans?) and other casual #meerkat users about your video action.
The home stream in the app also gives you info on upcoming scheduled streams (it’s like social media’s version of TV Guide) and big time Meerkat users (hey, Ashton + Gary Vaynerchuk!). This is totally going to be the newest time suck.
Once you go live and people begin watching, they can engage with you and others watching your video through likes and comments. Essentially, people can live tweet your life. And we thought #TGIT was the best live tweeting event…
The one downfall (though understandable aspect) of Meerkat is that once the live stream ends, viewers can’t go back and watch it. Sorry, no reruns with these shows. But, if you really are into your video and want it to live on, you can save the footage to your phone and upload it to YouTube or another video sharing platform.
Meerkat is a super innovative way for Twitter users to connect and share personal experiences, tap into professional conferences or speeches and even allow followers to peep into a concert or game. Who knows, maybe we’ll even step into the format and live stream a DIY or two ;)
Are you excited about live video streaming on Twitter? Let us know in the comments.