Periscope - is it just another app?

I must say I was skeptical of “Periscope” and it being just another social media application. Working in digital, I usually feel the need to trial all new technology and platforms to give it a go, however with Periscope I truly never thought it would be a platform that engaged me.

Last week, I participated in my first live Q&A via Periscope and I think I’m now converted. I took part in the first kick off session of “How to be the CEO of your Career” with Andrea Clarke, amongst 15 other participants in the program. Through the 20 minute live Q&A, I chatted live with other participants, asked questions live of Andrea which were answered real time, as well as the ability to re-stream the session for 24 hours afterwards. Follow Andrea on Periscope @andreaclarke22 to hear more about her program.

The platform allows us to source real-time feedback and engagement from our audience, with minimal effort and high reward. What if we could utilise this platform for brands to do cost-effective focus groups? Or facilitate small group of workshops that people can participate in on a global scale? My favourite part about the interaction on Periscope is the direct interaction with our host. When asking a question, it’s important they acknowledge the person who’s asked it, for example “Thanks for the question Steph,” and give their answer.

The appeal of this live streaming app is nothing new - it’s the ‘exclusive’ and ‘behind the scenes’ content that users want from a platform. The reason you follow celebs on Twitter, the reason you follow bloggers on Instagram and the reason that Periscope will try dipping a toe in the water and take a percentage of the 20% of our weeks that we spend in social media. Whether or not it has viability long term is still to be seen, but I can certainly think of some great ways we’ll be trialling it for @SheSaysMelb and @Miss_Collective in the coming months as an added effective way to engage our women both locally and globally. 

Incredibly, 10 million people have created Periscope accounts since end of March 2015, and nearly two million people use the app every day^. I guess I fall outside the “early adopter” category, but Periscope has just been added to the first screen of my phone.

^https://recode.net/2015/08/12/periscope-has-10-million-users-kinda/

Twitter: @stekko
Periscope: @stephwebster