
Periscope by the Numbers - aaronbrethorst
https://medium.com/@periscope/periscope-by-the-numbers-6b23dc6a1704?=1
======
anotherangrydev
Twitter ripped off Meerkat. That's all I will ever see to this story. I don't
care how succesfully they may be or become.

Disclaimer: I don't work for Meerkat. It's just the way it is. Twitter
deserves every bad bit of luck they are getting lately.

~~~
awwstn
If you do something new and it's popular and shows potential to be a big
business, other people will compete with you; that's how markets work. Some of
those people will try to innovate and out-pace you, and others will simply
copy you. Some will be scrappy startups, and others will have deeper pockets
than you; that's inevitable.

When Facebook launches streaming video, should we be angry at them since they
have way more money/users than Twitter, and because Twitter did it first?

If Meerkat has built something defensible, then they'll be fine. If not,
nobody should expect them to just be deemed the only company that can do
streaming video. During Twitter's history, many people tried to pop up and
knock them down to take the lead - but Twitter was tenacious and had an
awesome product, and they won.

It's a long game and Meerkat can still win it. If one early competitor is
enough to crush them, then they probably weren't going to make it anyway.

~~~
FilterSweep
Honest question, then what's the point of innovating, if Google, Facebook, or
Twitter can simply copy your idea with an unlimited reach?

~~~
zzalpha
My experience: because you can probably still do it better.

Google, Facebook, and Twitter are _far_ from omnipotent. Want proof? Just look
at Google's failed attempts to get into TV advertising or social networking.
Or Facebook's attempts with Messenger. Or Twitter's... everything, really.

Also, consider, it's unlikely any of them would copy an idea until you've
already made it a success, at which point network effects can work in your
favour (again, Google's repeatedly aborted attempts in social networking are
illustrative, here).

To summarize: they might try to copy you, but there's no reason to assume
they'll succeed.

~~~
zmonkeyz
If there's anything that tech has proven it's that the best doesn't always win
out.

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jordigg
Periscope had a great start, support very early on from investors, influencers
and was bought by Twitter before going live, that helped explode the app from
day 0. Something that did hurt Meerkat a lot was being cut off from the
Twitter API something that became pretty normal on several apps that started
getting traction.

Periscope acquisition by Twitter seems to have slowed them down on launching
new features, but I have to say that their app and streaming works better than
Meerkat and numbers don't lie. They are doing a great job.

Meerkat is great at innovating and moving fast. The "Cameo" feature looks
really cool. Everyone thought they were going to be bought by Facebook, but
they just launched their own app for famous people and journalists (at least
at the beginning to try it out). Let's see how this space evolves once
Facebook releases the app to the public and Google starts doing the same using
Youtube.

~~~
napolesmarble
"Google starts doing the same using youtube" is that confirmed or you feel
inevitable?

~~~
jordigg
I think is the natural choice. Their social network "Google+" failed, they are
now implementing live streaming for games (after laughing about Twitch[1]) and
already offer live hangouts. I'm sure the next step is to use Youtube ala
Periscope/Meerkat, maybe with a standalone app. If they want to keep their
influencers and Youtube pros they should offer this functionality to them but
Facebook is ahead now.

[1][https://twitter.com/justinkan/status/580524413604478976](https://twitter.com/justinkan/status/580524413604478976)

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6stringmerc
That's a pretty helpful write-up, because I think the value in Periscope is
the marketing angle to a wide, international audience. In my experience,
there's a first "wave" of adopters that get to front-run the pack and build
momentum. As in, earlier webpages (Maddox) or YouTube acts (Gregory Brothers)
rose up when the signal to noise was still pretty good. My view is there's a
natural tipping point with any service / platform like Periscope.

After studying and forming opinions about various outlets, I'm pretty happy to
be on Periscope, and I don't think I'll get on Meerkat or jump at the chance
to do a Facebook live stream. As explained in the article, the viewers through
the app or through the web enable people to pick an avenue they prefer, and I
think that's a strength. Periscope reminds me of the fun of ChatRoulette
without the hazardous free-for-all setup.

With the continually shifting avenues for marketing and performance streaming
(Periscope, Tidal, etc) there's a lot of opportunity for mid-tier acts to have
a chance at a wider audience. Is it wise to spam every service? No, but
getting a foothold in the ones with a decent return on time invested does seem
reasonable, even if that list is about 10 sites long. Managing a digital
footprint is pretty cool these days...a long way from sharing MIDI files over
56k modems haha

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sreyaNotfilc
Yes, Periscope is getting huge.

I feel this platform is very cool and can fulfill many niches along with
Meerkat. For example, I could learn/communicate from/with an expert on a
subject or just hangout with someone famous (Kevin Hart). I even watched an
entire wedding (from planning to the event to the after party) thanks to
Amanda Oleander (I think she's the top Periscoper right now).

Personally, it can also broaden your horizon, especially for shy people like
me. I'm using the platform to learn broadcasting techniques and to showcase my
artwork (@artJutsu). I'm horrible at it, but I feel I'm getting more
comfortable with my public speaking because of it.

When you broadcast you are LIVE and have to think on your feet to keep things
interesting. This is much different than non-streaming social media because
you can create the most perfect instance of yourself/business.

I would love to see how this product develops further. I don't think it will
be a replacement for Youtube or Twitter, but more of an enhancement of your
current social paradigm.

~~~
minimaxir
> _I feel this platform is very cool and can fulfill many niches along with
> Meerkat_

The success of Periscope and Meerkat are mutually exclusive. While Periscope
has topped the Social Networking category in the App Store, Meerkat has been
gradually losing ranking since Periscope's inflection point at the end of May,
according to App Annie:
[http://i.imgur.com/b51Wpm2.png](http://i.imgur.com/b51Wpm2.png)

No, "YOU CAN GUEST IN ANOTHER LIVESTREAM ZOMG XD" is not sufficient feature
differentiation.

The space will become tragedy-of-the-commonsed once both YouTube _and_
Facebook release dedicated livestreaming apps; and both are currently in
limited release.

~~~
sreyaNotfilc
"YOU CAN GUEST IN ANOTHER LIVESTREAM ZOMG XD"

Yeah, I don't understand the mentality of "but we have xyz feature"! Its
rather tacky and I'm not sure if it ever worked. There's a reason why Meerkat
has fallen out of favor and its not because of a single feature. Periscope has
what "304 million monthly active users" potential users because of Twitter
alone. That's hughmongous! Also, the name Meerkat is not fun. Reminds me of a
Ferret for some reason.

Facebook has already released live streaming for celebs. Once that catches on,
Periscope will be reserved to just another feature that Twitter uses.

No one's going to win. Its just an enhancement of a service that's long due. I
do think, however, that the Meerkat boys will be fine. They can just have FB
write them a check and be acquired (which I believe was the intent anyway).

Twitter on the other hand, if used wisely, may help their business model since
more and more people will be active on their platform because someone's on
there acting interesting. (Expect to see 1,000,000 #WSHH tags on Periscope
soon.)

~~~
sreyaNotfilc
@6stringmerc

Facebook is trying its hardest to not be Facebook. Its purpose as a platform
has morphed drastically from its original intent, And that's fine. Heck, I
would do the same.

I do see the practice of Freebooting as an issue, but nothing that will break
them. They have way too many people who does it and (worse) way too many
people who are either uninformed or just don't care. So, really I feel its
going to happen for all eternity.

That said, I'm surprised that Facebook hasn't branched out and became its own
entertainment hub. FacebookNews, FacebookFilm, FacebookShop, Facebook...Books
lol. They certainly have the cash to do so an make it happen. Maybe that's
what they are working on as we speak.

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applecore
What happened in the last week of May 2015 that caused the huge uptick in
growth?

~~~
hrayr
Android app launched. More people should probably launch with Android first,
seemed like iOS was flatlining.

