Unless home is under a rock without an internet
connection, it’s likely you’ve heard of Periscope.
The new live-streaming app, launched at
the end of March by Twitter as acompetitor to killer of Meerkat, has caused a flurry of
excitement.
It’s not that live-streaming is new – Ustream and Justin.tv (RIP)
have been around for years – but the availability of the medium on portable
devices seems a game changer.
I’ve been playing around with the app
and have sussed out its user base. So, here are 10 other scopers you’re likely
to encounter.
1. The
journalist
Journalists and news outlets have been
quick to jump on Periscope in a way they didn’t do with Meerkat,
despite the interest the latter app caused among tech-heads in the run-up to SXSW.
Perhaps this is to do with Periscope’s
ostensibly easier-to-use interface (UI), but is probably more to do with
Twitter’s adeptness at sending out press releases.
So far, The
Verge, The
Guardian, Sky News and
the BBC have
already broadcasted using the app, and presenter Kay Burley used
it behind
the scenes of ITV’s Leader
Debates in the UK.
2. The citizen
journalist
Will Periscope transform news though?
It’s the question everybody is asking. And by
“everybody”, I mean journalists, obviously.
There’s no denying that the impact
Periscope and Meerkat could have on citizen journalism is exciting. Who knows
how useful the apps might be in a hard-to-reach location, or during a rapidly
developing disaster?
We have already seen Periscope come into
play with the New
York City fire last week (600
viewers), and journalism school Poynter has
just published a
piece on app best
practice.
Connection speeds might be a problem,
however, as seen with the Periscope stream dedicated to discussing how
Periscope streams would change journalism. Meta.
Serious point, here. What are Twitter going to do about the vast
number of men (#notallmen),
who are going to abuse the app to hit on women or make misogynist and/or
overtly sexual comments?
There’s even a term for how long it
takes a dude to get his dick out in front of a low-res camera on any emerging
internet platform. It’s called “time
to cock” (TTC), and is the priapic relation of Godwin’s law. So, is it only a matter of time
before Periscope becomes a handheld Chat Roulette?
It probably goes without saying that
sooner or later, Periscope pornographers will arrive on the scene, hot on the
heels of adult movies shot
with drones.
But of more concern is how Twitter will manage the creeps. A colleague
and I were shocked to find a 13-year-old girl showing off her gymnastic skills
being inundated with explicit comments from men.
Which I guess leads us onto another type
of scoper one will encounter: The Child You Desperately Want to Protect.
4. The guy staring into his fridge
A
trope that seems to have emerged is people sharing the contents of their
fridges, like some sort of Z-list version of MTV
Cribs. I’m going to call these people “fridgers”.
Imagine: Gwyneth
Paltrow opening the door of a Smeg to reveal one stick of
celery and a vomit-coloured smoothie.
My
personal favourite twist on this particular theme was the guy who live-streamed
his decision making process of which soda to purchase from a vending machine.
However,
there is a tenuous connection from fridge voyeurism to something a bit more
practical: I have seen people providing step-by-step cooking tutorials using
the app. As someone whose culinary skills bring to mind Bridget Jones and herblue string soup, this could be quite a useful
thing indeed.
5. The reviewer
Little
boxes, little boxes, sang Malvina Reynolds – little did she
know that 50 years later millions of people would spend their time watching
people onYouTube unpackage
toys and products in a phenomenon known as “unboxing”.
Unboxing
and reviewing could become very popular on Periscope; it’s a good example of
how the app could serve a very useful purpose, allowing consumers the chance to
ask exactly the questions they want and getting a real-time response (without
being pressured by a store clerk to buy a product).
The
Guardian has already used the app to deliver a review of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and fitness
trackers, and we’ll be doing more reviews in this format in the future.
6. The AMAer
We all know how great AMAs are (AMA
stands for “ask me anything”), a fascinating look into a subject or individual
we many know nothing about. But, let’s face it, a Reddit
thread isn’t the most
visceral of mediums, and the less said about most “web chats” the better.
Periscope, therefore, could offer some real
headway when it comes to shaking off ignorance. One of the most popular AMAers
I’ve come across on the app is a blind man who answers genuine questions from
users with warmth and humour and informative fact. More please.
7. The
petrolhead
There definitely seems to be a trend for
drivers periscoping their wheels, which as well as raising some significant
safety concerns, might possibly offer some options for Jeremy Clarkson’s future
career.
Thus far I’ve watched guys (mostly guys)
drive down autobahns and highways and country lanes. This is mildly interesting
if: a) you’re interested in the specs of a certain car, or b) the scenery is
particularly beautiful. But a shaky shot of a glovebox from the perspective of
a bored passenger isn’t entirely thrilling tbh.
8. The cute pet
Particularly
popular so far are mainstay internet favourites: pugs and cats. Cat streams
consist of felines curled up on laps, heavily purring into the mic, to a
background soundtrack of owners saying “it’s a HE”, over and over after scopers
write “She’s so cute!!!!” x1000.
I
also particularly enjoyed the streaming of a sleepy pug in a pub. “Can I have
her?” popped up one comment. “No”, the owner replied, before adding: “Because
she was very expensive.”
9. The drunk
We
thought drunk texting was bad. Then there was drunk tweeting. The onset of
drunk scoping terrifies us all. I’ve already seen plenty of – I’m gonna go with
“inebriated” – users of the app. After all, it’s always 3am somewhere.
Still,
there’s something to be said for 15 minutes of footage of a person stumbling to
his ex-girlfriends house, shouting up to the window that he still loves her,
then being confronted by her mum in a nightie (all available to view for 24
hours). What a time to be alive.
10. The copyright infringer
Neil
Diamond. That’s what I’ll tell my grandkids when they ask who was
the first artist I saw live on Periscope. Neil was very popular, judging by the
prevalence of hand clap emoji and multiple hearts.
It’s
also been reported that David
Guetta has already made his Periscope debut. As well as
concerts, users are live-streaming straight from cinemas, with around a dozen streams of Furious
7 thought to have been available to view on Periscope. That’s
at least two streams per every person interested in watching that film.
I
can’t imagine sports fans will be able to resist either, given that vines and
gifs of action are already popular. Cometh the Periscope stream, cometh
the wrath of Premier League broadcast rights
holders.
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