Image via Complex Original
Imagine if you only had one shot for a photo or video before it was uploaded to social media. Just snap, then it's automatically uploaded. Unless you're crazy photogenic, that would be a fucking nightmare. Thankfully, that's not the case. Messed up the lighting in this selfie? All right, re-take it five more times, pop in a filter—boom and done. That instant, easy editing process and the ability to re-shoot until your smartphone memory runs out are important to how we've tailored our identities in our social media profiles. But what if we handed over that editing control and showed ourselves in the raw? That, for better or worse, is live-streaming.
Live-streaming isn’t anything new to the Internet: cam-girls make thousands off of streaming, Chatroulette shows us that we're willing to talk to strangers (to a point) in video chat rooms, and Twitch proves that people will stream or watch a stream as long as they have a similar interest, like gaming. But live-streaming outside of Skype and Facetime has been largely untouched when it comes to social networking apps. Instead we have a bunch of video apps that distinguish themselves with audio dubbing features or videos that last just as long as the time it took you to finish reading this sentence. Most live-streaming apps haven't been able to go mainstream (there was Qik for a short time, but it was bought out by Skype) and no mainstream app has really embraced live-streaming outside of a conversation meant for more than two people. But the success of Twitch has shown that the demand is there, and it likely provided a catalyst for live-streaming to break in on smartphones when Meerkat dropped in February. Meerkat quickly became popular, was used by a bunch of celebrities like Jimmy Fallon, and the app showed that live-streaming might have found a spot in mainstream social networking. Then Twitter came and ruined the party.
Within two weeks of Meerkat’s debut, Twitter took away Meerkat's ability to automatically follow people on their Twitter profiles (Meerkat uses Twitter accounts for practically everything). Then Twitter bought the live-streaming app Periscope, and relaunched it under its own brand—with full Twitter integration and a reservoir of millions of potential users ready to crossover, like they did with Vine. The launch happened on the same day that Meerkat announced that the company received $14 million in funding. And just like that—we're off to the races. So, I tried out live-streaming with the two new apps to find out if they were just fads, or if there was some lasting appeal outside of it just being something new in the App Store (Meerkat and Periscope are both only available on iOS as of now). Here's what I found.
Signing Up
When you load Periscope and Meerkat, they have already have two big similarities: they both require you to sign-in with Twitter. This isn't a problem since I use Twitter, but it is a problem if you're Meerkat and your rival app is owned by Twitter. Even their slogan says, "Tweet Live Video." At this point, Meerkat should try to break as many links to Twitter as it can.
Advantage: Tie
Finding What to Stream
Each app has a section that showcases a bunch of live-streams that are happening across the Internet. Meerkat showcases them on its Start screen, and Periscope uses a screen it calls "Global." I dipped in a few on both apps; I checked out the New York Auto Show, saw a game of Jenga being played, a couple of teenage girls answering questions, and some dude watching TV. The content is always changing.
But Meerkat and Periscope present streams in different styles, and the ways you can interact with who's streaming varies, too.
Advantage: Tie
Interface
Periscope has a “love” feature where you can check out how many people are watching the stream, and can see when someone "likes" a stream by the animated hearts that appear in the lower right hand corner of the video. I thought this was cool at first, but if you’re on a video that a ton of people are watching, there will be a steady stream of hearts that clog the screen.
On Meerkat, though, likes are counted in the corner, which is less distracting, and still gets the point across. But Meerkat's screen does fill up rather quickly with pictures of the other users who are in the stream (pointless) and other information. Also favoriting, replying to, or re-tweeting a stream on Meerkat will likewise be reflected on your Twitter feed as well. A comment will turn into a tweet unless you turn it off, and a favorite will be listed under your Twitter favorites. In contrast, Periscope keeps everything inside the app.
Watching a stream in Meerkat.
Advantage: Periscope
Commenting
The cool thing about live-streaming with these apps, which I’d say is 80 percent of the appeal, is the feedback. If you’re streaming a video, comments will pop up on screen. If someone asks you a question, you can reply back immediately just by talking. It’s like a Reddit AMA, but on your smartphone. With this being the Internet, you'll get a ton of trolls talking shit. If you don’t have thick skin, you can choose to stream to a select number of people instead of going public. It's definitely interesting when it comes to actually having real-time conversations with the people you're watching—or the ones who are watching you—something that uploading pre-recorded video to Instagram isn't going to get you, unless you're sitting there waiting for people to start commenting. (Ahem, you probably are, but let's pretend you're not.)
Advantage: Periscope
Popularity Contest
Meerkat has a leaderboard that displays your total viewers, time spent streaming, and engagement by followers. Right now, Madonna is at the top, with a few thirst traps, randoms, and news publications rounding out the top 10. If you're competitive, this is something that you might get into. Periscope has something similar, what they call "Most Loved," which is essentially a collection of people with the most likes. Right now, their most loved user is someone named Fahad, or @f3k. That's what's great about being an early adopter to a new app—the playground is all yours and you have more space to make a name for yourself.
Advantage: Meerkat
When You're the One Live-Streaming
While Meerkat and Periscope have their differences, live-streaming from your smartphone to a bunch of people does introduce the same new element: spontaneity, and that's something that gets lost in the ocean of pictures and videos we post of things that have already happened.
I tried out live-streaming with the apps while I took a stroll down Sunset Blvd. near the Complex offices. Both apps were essentially the same when it comes to streaming, except when you want to flip from the front camera to rear. You double tap the screen in Periscope to flip, and press an on-screen button in Meerkat to do the same. Not a big deal. While I was streaming in Periscope, a friend got a notification that I was "live," and she sent comments that popped up in the left-hand corner of my screen. I got a few strangers to tune in while I was in Meerkat. After a few minutes I saw they were sticking around for the show, and I felt some pressure to talk to them instead of showing street traffic and buildings—so I flipped around the camera and started talking. I'm a little shy when it comes to cameras, but going live gets your adrenaline going—and if things go bad, there's nothing stopping you from turning it off.
Advantage: Tie
What Happens After You Stream?
Meerkat's videos are automatically gone once you shut down the stream, but you have a chance to save them to your camera roll. Periscope's streams are added to their server for the next 24 hours unless you take them down yourself, so you can come back after school or work and watch whatever you missed throughout the day. But that's the thing with these apps right now—it's hard to find anything from friends or people you know personally, unless you have notifications set to let you know when they're streaming, which can get annoying. Meerkat and Periscope are still in their infancy, and they're more about discovery than sharing things with friends since everyone you know is still on Snapchat or Instagram.
Advantage: Periscope
So, Which One Should You Use?
I wouldn't call this a fad. Things are only going to grow as more users establish themselves, and I could totally see people starting their own live shows. But there’s the question of what happens when people start streaming sex, drugs, or harassment. How will that be handled? Vine allowed x-rated content in its early days, and banned it about a year after it launched. Will things like that attract users, or drive them away? People are already streaming movies like Fast & Furious 7 while they're sitting in the theater, but companies have been surprisingly cool about it so far.
If you're thinking about jumping in to live-streaming, while both apps are solid, I'd have to toss my recommendation to Periscope. It's less cluttered, and, well, I'm already using Twitter—and since Twitter is its parent, it's likely to stay around for awhile. I wouldn't be surprised if Meerkat sells to Facebook or Microsoft sometime in the next year or two. Whatever you choose, watch out for your data plan—this shit will gobble it up in no time—and be on your best behavior, because you'll never know when you'll be on camera, live.
Winner: Periscope