From Facebook to Twitter, now every social network is getting hyped about the prospects of live video in the current mobile-centric world. While the former is already aggressively focusing its efforts on the continuous extension of live video with new filters, ad management, and controls, the latter is today also introducing an important feature to make everyone a live streamer.
Yes, Twitter is finally utilizing its acquisition of live streaming platform Periscope to enable every user to create live videos using its iOS and Android apps. This task can now be accomplished natively within the updated Twitter app via a single tweet to directly begin streaming to your followers. You are no longer required to download the Periscope application. This feature has already been made available to Twitter mobile app users across the globe.
Commenting on the launch, Kayvon Beykpour, CEO of Periscope, says,
We started Periscope because we wanted to give people the superpower to share live video with an audience. Bringing this capability directly into the Twitter app is an important step because it brings that superpower to the hundreds of millions of people who use Twitter. Twitter’s already the place where people go to see what’s happening. With this update, anyone can now broadcast what’s happening live.
To use the native live streaming feature, you’d need to latest update for the Twitter app on your mobile device. Opening the app, tapping on the ‘new tweet’ button and clicking the camera icon at the bottom will now display three options for attaching media content to your tweet. The newest addition to the same is the ‘Live’ button with the Periscope logo in the center.
Once you tap on the Live button, you’ll be greeted with an interface similar to that of Periscope. There you can enter the required caption to start broadcasting to your followers on both Periscope as well as the Twitter app. It can be viewed right there in the timeline itself. Your followers can then view this broadcast and interact by commenting and sending hearts to show their support.
This move from the stagnating micro-blogging platform follows pursuit to Facebook and is aimed at allowing users to start conversations natively on the platform itself. Though this integration should’ve happened long ago, we’re satisfied that Twitter has finally understood the importance of live streaming and what it could mean for their platform. It has recently also streamed sports games, U.S presidential debate and game awards over on their platform and the community response was overwhelming.
Twitter is a primary avenue for communities on the interwebs to initiate discussions and express their views about certain events or memes (of course!) And now live streaming will only add to the said discussion happening on the platform. So, update your apps and go live!
