With the Election Day coming closer, Periscope, the Twitter-owned live streaming app has finally launched its own selfie masks — giving us a peek into the features coming to the platform. You can Go Live as Trump or Clinton with the new feature which will be available for the coming week. However rivals like Snapchat and Facebook have already modeled their offerings around animated augmented reality selfie masks in the market, Periscope just adds to the competition.
Periscope emphasizes on the addition of all new selfie masks feature as:
Live video continues to be an important way for anyone, including our elected representatives, to share their point of view on important issues and invite everyone to be a part of the conversation.
From larger moments like #NoBillNoBreak to everyday activities like local town halls, we’re proud of the role live video continues to play in shaping the political process.
Further, these selfie masks are dissimilar as compared to illustrated masks offered by other services as these are just photographs of the lead candidates having moving mouths which will stick to your face as you move. Due credit is also given to the photographers by Periscope in its announcement as — Masks image credit: “Hillary Clinton with Supporters” by Gage Skidmore, used under CC-BY-SA 2.0/ modified from original; “Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore, used under CC-BY-SA 2.0/ modified from original.”
Nevertheless, Selfie Mask feature by Periscope is on the rear side watching out the competition as it is only available for the iOS app’s latest version and hence limits its users. But the availability of selfie masks on Live video feed on Periscope still keeps our hopes for the platform alive. Also, shy users and people who are not willing to show off their faces while sharing their point of view, selfie masks suit them the best as these cover the full face of the user.
These selfie masks not only intend to create awareness about the upcoming U.S Elections but also allow young political enthusiasts to voice out their views and comments in a playful manner. This will enable Periscope’s principal user base of senior citizens to extend to the mainstream audience as well.
Launching out a creative tool with the financial crisis going on in the parent company Twitter, Periscope not only deserves our appreciation but also takes a lead in this competitive environment. But, I’m still annoyed at Twitter for shutting down Vine. Huh!
