The Hottest New Thing: Periscope

by Trina Johnson

Have you jumped on Periscope yet? It's a new app for live-streaming video hosted by Twitter. Now anyone can create their own live reality show. No matter where you are, or what you are doing, you can turn on your phone and everyone on Periscope can see you and what you see.

Unlike YouTube, video is streamed live through Periscope, not recorded forever. So just like any live event, anything can happen. Wardrobe malfunctions, beeping cars, yelled profanity, it's all possible and happens. But a well-planned live-streamed event can be very effective and a terrific way to build trust and credibility with your audience. Give them a little taste of you behind the scenes. Periscope broadcasts have a short shelf life – 24 hours and it's gone. It is NOT a video recording platform.

The app has a live chat feature, making it a terrific platform for live conversations and instruction. Marketers are adopting Periscope in droves as an alternative to Google+ Hangouts. Periscope has solved many of the cumbersome technical pain points that have plagued Hangouts. It is a good alternative platform for interactive webinars. And the fact that it's only viewable for 24 hours makes is a terrific platform for time-sensitive special offers.

Using Periscope is incredibly easy. It is available for both Android and iPhone. Download the app, open it up, hit record and you will be live-streaming on Periscope.  Just like other social media platforms, you can invite your friends to connect with you and you can connect with others. You can choose for your live-streaming events to be seen publicly or choose an audience.

People are going to come up with cool uses for Periscope, no doubt. One of the first adopters was Guy Kawasaki and he has been live-streaming Q&A sessions on a regular basis, answering business and technology questions. Other people have come up with silly and clever ways to build audience engagement, like the “Here's my fridge. If I get 100 viewers, I drop some eggs.” Another woman has started regularly recording herself as she is walking her dog, talking to her audience and describing her morning walk for all to see.

This app can be used for tremendous good, but it also can be used for the wrong reasons. It has already been used for illegal copyright infringement by hundreds of people streaming the pay-per-view boxing match of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquio, It's against the terms of service, of course, but that doesn't stop the misuse.

So if you are looking for a fresh way to connect with your audience, try Periscope. It just may be a game-changer.