Meerkat Breaks From Twitter & Adds in Co-Stars in Massive New Update

Live streaming app Meerkat rolled out several major updates Wednesday morning, including the ability to sign up on the platform through Facebook instead of Twitter, a feature they are calling Cameo that lets you invite those watching your stream to take over that stream for 1 minute, and a final update, giving users the ability to save streams in something called the Meerkat Library rather than simply on your phone. All of these are huge improvements, and as we always talk about, things they have listened to users asking for.

The mingling with Facebook is a biggie. When Meerkat first launched, users would only be able to sign into Meerkat via Twitter, and could tweet out that they were streaming. Then Periscope arrived, and Meerkat was cut off from Twitters social graph. This new update now means streamers have the ability to sign up via Facebook registration, not even needing a Twitter account. It will also help those already on the platform to find their Facebook friend’s streams. It was only a matter of time before Meerkat partnered with Facebook, they had to find a way around the blockade Twitter forced upon them.

I believe the real “game-changing” update is the introduction of Cameo, however. With Wednesday’s update, Meerkat added the ability to invite anyone watching your current stream to take over. If the chosen viewer accepts, everyone watching the stream can see that user make a “cameo” appearance during your stream for up to 1 minute. Since inception, I have watched many users want to be able to toggle between the original streamer and someone watching. This makes engagement grow faster, as it gives the chance to have more of a “normal” conversation between streamer and viewers. With one streamer, it is more of a broadcast, but Cameo has made Meerkat much more inclusive, adding to more of a community feel. For brands, Cameo is ripe with marketing possibilities. They now have the opportunity to have their sponsored athletes, celebrities, and influencers appear on their streams, to speak directly with their community.

The biggest problem I have noticed with Meerkat is how regularly it drops streams. Though this update has promised “bug fixes and stability improvements,” I still watched interrupted streams as quickly as last night.

Currently, this update is only available in the App Store and on Google Play. There has been no mention of a date when Android users will be able to take part in these new additions.

 

 

Social Media SOS!

People love to chase the next new thing. In terms of marketing and social media, this can get a bit overwhelming. Every week there is a new tool, new platform or new technology that marketing managers and those who work in social media are told WILL be the “game changer. Adapt or die.”

How many times a week do you get a message or email or text or worse – an auto-DM saying “Follow me on Twitter! Let’s connect on LinkedIn! Are we Facebook friends yet? Have you seen my Pinterest page? I saw that on Instagram!” Most recently, it has been “I’m Meerkatting (yes, it’s become a verb, while Periscoping hasn’t, probably because it sounds a bit creepy) come watch me cook dinner/sit in my room, answer any questions…”

Not sure if you suffer from Social Media SOS? Some of the symptoms look like this:

1.      I’m going through my day, answering emails and doing what is right in front of me, when two co-workers walk by my desk laughing and talking. I can’t just sit here, I must find out what they find so funny!

2.      I spend more time on social media looking down at my phone than I do with friends outside of my social media groups. I can’t be torn away – what if a new platform comes out?

3.      I love my job. It’s fulfilling and there is room to grow. But let me take some time to check out Craigslist…maybe there’s something even better out there….

What are the motivations that fuel our wanting to be involved in everything? Here are a few that I believe feed into Shiny New Object Syndrome:

1.      We all want to be early adopters. Does it make you feel “cool” or “more in the know” to find something before any of your friends? Do you like to be the one to introduce the next new thing to your group? That’s not always a bad thing. Branding-wise, it can give you an edge up on your competition to introduce something that hasn’t previously been seen or tried or thought of. In today’s world, where a brand’s timing is becoming increasingly more important than some of their strategies, early adoption may be the difference between a brand staying relevant and a brand that watches this new world passing them by.

2.      FOMO. Many people are just not satisfied much of the time. “Keeping up with the Joneses” is so 1999, but FOMO really means the same thing. It’s the idea that everyone else is having more fun that I am, everyone else is part of something that I’m on the outside of….in one word? FOMO = jealousy. For brands, this is a huge opportunity and also a huge risk. The opportunity lies in how well you can foster feelings of FOMO within your community and the risk arises when people begin to eschew your brand as being too selective and exclusive (another word that can be both positive and negative for brands)

3.      The oftentimes misplaced “celebrity” we place on “Influencers:” The word “influencer” has changed as of late. It used to mean someone that incites people to make a change. While it still means that in today’s social media landscape, it has also become a bit adulterated. Influencers have also begun to be people with lots of (for example) Twitter followers, that others engage with in hopes of being noticed by the “influencer” and mentioned by them, to grow their own follower number. I see many people not just suffering from Shiny New Object Syndrome, but having a full blown case of it. “I HAVE to be involved in (insert any shiny new object here) because (insert any social media ‘influencer’s’ name here) is doing it and if I talk about, they’ll talk about ME!" Not the ideal or clearest of motives. IMO, if you're doing anything to "become an influencer," #youredoingitwrong.

Once you get over the initial excitement of the latest shiny new object, it still goes back to marketing fundamentals. Is this really right for YOUR business? Not every new technology or social media platform is one size fits all. It’s generally not even one size fits most. “New” isn’t a synonym for “better.” While Social Media SOS might be a new buzzword, you still have to ask yourself the same questions you always have: How will this help my community? Will this move the needle and impact sales?

I am not suggesting you try to shy away from this completely. I also don’t suggest that you attempt to completely cure yourself of SOS. It can work to your advantage. If you don’t test each shiny new platform, technology piece or tool that comes out, how will you know what WILL work for you and your business? As marketers, it’s our job to be open to change and constantly adaptable. It’s our responsibility to try out, test and play with each potential game-changer, so we can add it to our arsenal when that pot of gold does arrive.

Do you have a case of Social Media SOS? Has it helped you find something that has grown your business? Or…has it divided your time into too many segments to actually be able to focus? Comment below and let me know!

Perhaps I'm Just Not Cool, and This Won't Help (or) My Thoughts on Meerkat & Periscope

I’m not anti-Periscope or Meerkat. I think it offers amazing branding opportunities and chances to see different viewpoints and even parts of the world that I wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to. This is a great real time marketing opportunity for brands to showcase what they are working on, help with consumer education, bring their community along to events they are unable to join in person…it’s hard to stop my marketing brain from coming up with more and more instances where this will be enter into my strategic planning. I do sometimes like to be a voyeur and get an inside peek into certain people’s lives and this is just the thing to quench that thirst. It’s only been a few hours since the arrival of Periscope (oddly released before it was meant to be, or was saying that just to make us feel even more cutting edge for having adopted it even earlier?) and I’m already a fan, where I wasn’t of Meerkat.

I just have some questions. And concerns.

People like to be “famous.” It’s a sad part of our culture and with the new attention on apps such as Meerkat and Periscope, the opportunities to have million of eyeballs on anything and everything you do at any point of the day, makes this “insta-fame” even easier. There’s the saying “it’s like a train wreck, you just can’t look away” – will we feel the same watching a live stream of crime happening? Suicide in real time? Look at how famous serial killers become. Part of some peoples human nature is drawn to and obsessed with people who do bad things – will we make live streaming killers just as famous?

There is never a lack of news and trials about date rape, hazing, people passing out in college dorms and being taken advantage of while unconscious, only to find out through Instagram pictures that an incident occurred. How long til these acts are live streamed and simultaneously posted on Twitter streams across the world?

I recently brought up some of my concerns on the growing popularity of these new apps, and was quickly reminded that “live streaming on the internet is nothing new.” While that’s true, the attention it is now getting is new. And when people see that something is hip or popular, they want to be a part of it. Admittedly, I am drawn to it as well. Both good and bad, I suffer from “FOMO” quite often, and like most people in my online communities, always want to be an early adopter of new digital trends. I also have choices to make. And morals. And beliefs. And goals of who I want to be and the person I strive to become every day. And part of who I am is inherently curious and questioning (and more often than I’d like to admit even to myself, opinionated, generally loudly). Because of this, I have concerns.

When people do reality shows, there is a long involved screening process and many releases to sign. As more people are publicly live streaming, we are in a way, cast into their reality show with no release and quite possibly no knowledge that we are even involved. I can have live stream without anyone I can be filming knowing I am doing it depending on where my phone’s camera is placed. And while the people around me that are being filmed might never want to be included, they have no say in being distributed to anyone anywhere around the world.

I am also finding that watching unedited versions of people I know online and have long respected are losing a bit of my respect (or a lot, depending on what point of their streams I tune into) for their lack of humility. Ego is one thing I work hard at keeping out of my life, both personally and professionally. When someone mentions their “fans” in a live stream, I’m immediately turned off (and so is their stream). Why would you think I want to turn into you driving to work? Or walking your dog, streaming your inner monologues? Perhaps I need to vet who I follow and whose streams I watch more deeply, and weed out those that I’m not interested in. Perhaps my writing this blog is me being just as bad as some of the streams I’m discussing here – thinking anyone cares what my thoughts are on this topic.

Points of difference I’m enjoying on Periscope over Meerkat:

·        Replay – unlike Meerkat, Periscope saves live streams once they’re completed, and allows you to play them back later or keep them saved (streamers are also given the option to NOT have their streams saved)

·        Upon sign in, you are brought to a screen that shows you what streams are currently live, from both people you follow and those you don’t yet follow, as well as a list of recent streams. This is huge, IMO, as you can literally browse through streams to find what speaks most to you

·        Hearts – while you are watching a live stream, if you tap the screen, you send out a heart. You can send an infinite number of hearts, to show your appreciation to the streamer that you enjoy what they are doing. Both the person doing the stream can see this, as well as anyone else signed onto the stream with you

·        Comments do not post directly to Twitter – this was my biggest annoyance with Meerkat. There would be all these tweets in my feed that didn’t make any sense, there was no conversation to view around them, and no auto-hashtag to give them context. While I suspect this may change with Periscope, comments do not auto publish to Twitter and I love that.

Neither app currently allows you to preschedule broadcasts further out than 24 hours and I think for brands, that will be a game changer for whichever platform makes that available first. To be able to tweet out a date that you will be giving a talk or live streaming an event will definitely help experiential marketing.

I look forward to your thoughts on this. In the meantime, I’ll be delving in and joining people at home, at work, in their cars, at the store….