19 Feb Up Periscope!
I feel like a bit of a ‘laggard’ today. At noon I watched only my ‘second’ Periscope broadcast.
The first was just two days ago at 23:30 as Iron Maiden (the heavy metal band) had their new tour bus delivered – a Boeing 747 – more of that in a moment…
Periscope
In case you’re even more behind than me Periscope is an app that enables streaming video over the Twitter network – the Twitter equivalent of YouTube if you like. Periscope launched at the end of March 2015 and by mid August over 10 million accounts had been created.
That’s not to say they are all active of course (the link below claims 1.8 million daily users), however the figure that really baked my noodle was the claim that 40 years of video are being watched daily the platform (Periscope by the numbers, Medium, 12 Aug 2016).
40 years. Just under my lifetime consumed on a daily basis.
Laggard
So, feeling like a laggard less than a year after a product launches only illustrates what we’ve known for a while now (but stills takes me by surprise every now and then) which is how quickly technology moves these days.
Despite being aware of Periscope and keen to try it out for much of those 10 months I just hadn’t come up with a reason nor had I heard of anyone using it in a way that excited me. Again, “An (almost) year in review” – Periscope’s Medium page made me realise I’d had my head in a bag. There are lots of great users out there and I need to catch up.
Why now?
Coincidentally the reason I got on Twitter was because of an aeroplane. The day Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III made “the most successful ditching in aviation history” I was turned on to Twitter. Democratisation of media, etc, etc… it felt interesting to me. (Twitter’s Defining Moment)
On a significantly more mundane level a new plane was being delivered to the city airport in Cardiff, Wales (UK) on Wednesday evening. I’m no plane spotter, but this is not your average plane.
World Tour
Iron Maiden started their World Tour today. Rather than charter a series of flights to transport band, crew, baggage and equipment, hire kit and PAs around the world, Maiden charter their own 747, slap some massive stickers on it (just in case EasyJet get any ideas) and have their lead singer fly it. I’m not making any of this up.
So, for nut jobs ‘enthusiasts’ like me, the Maiden PR team were on hand to capture delivery of said 747 as it landed in Cardiff, on Wednesday evening. It was dark, blurry at times, but on time – so shortly after 23:30 (shame it couldn’t have been 23:58, eh Maiden fans..?) fans got the first glimpse of a fully liveried (cover in stickers) “Ed Force One”. I took screen shots (above) to prove it.
Today
Today, shortly after noon the same plane departed complete with band, kit and crew for Florida to collect ex-pat drummer Nicko and start their World Tour. Of course the the departure was broadcast again via Periscope as 10k fans from across the globe (including those in Florida) excitedly watched.
Immediacy
Regardless of your position on Iron Maiden it illustrates the immediacy that can be created through a platform like Periscope. Any occasion, incident or events that, ordinarily, you might capture and share in a photograph can now be streamed for added impact.
What can you do?
I’m attending a “service jam” next month and I think it’ll benefit from a bit a streaming throughout the day – maybe speak to participants, capture some of the activity and broadcast some of the final presentations in real time. You can record/broadcast for as long as your batteries will allow and once you’ve finished the broadcast remains accessible on Periscope for 24 hours.
As you broadcast people can post comments that appear onscreen for all viewers to see – the great thing about this is you can respond live through the audio of your broadcast for all to hear which creates a unique way of interacting with the audience.
So, homework for the weekend for us all is to find and watch some Periscope broadcasts – come back here and tell me what you think… what will you be using Periscope for, or what have you already done?
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