Live Streaming From TRANSACT15 - Join In!

It had to be done ... I had to pick a single platform for live streaming from TRANSACT15. No more playing around with simultaneous live feeds using Meerkat and Periscope since that would just cause confusion for folks that were interested in tuning in. I did a fair amount of testing over the past 2 weeks but no clear cut winner dominated the tests.

Weighing heavily on my mind was the concern that bringing something new like live streaming to TRANSACT15 is a big responsibility. I've always gotten pleasure out of introducing technology to others, so where the "big responsibility" concern comes in play is that you have to pick WINNERS or risk doing a disservice to others that you may drive to adoption. That said, I've picked my winner and the winner is Periscope.

Admittedly, it was an easy decision since the epic battle between two tech players - that I blathered on about in a live broadcast last Friday - was decisively won by Periscope ... and in less time than it took in the 1980s for the British to win the battle against Argentina over the Falkland Islands!

Just LAST Thursday Meerkat announced $14 million in new funding and later in the day Twitter launched its rival streaming app called Periscope.  By Sunday night, the Periscope-Meerkat battle was brutally lopsided. The Periscope app had become a smash hit, breaking into the US iPhone top-30 chart by Friday night (a rare feat for a social media app).  Conversely, Meerkat was quickly dominated like a braggadocios Rhonda Roussey opponent and appears to be close to "tapping" in Round 1. By Sunday night Meerkat had collapsed to No. 523 on the US iPhone download chart.

Is this "quick win" a sign of the times in today's real-time tech world?  Will the tech world ever again see a "long haul" battle for supremacy like the Apple versus Microsoft conflict?  I know this writer will surely hesitate using the cliche "epic battle" any time soon!

It will be amazingly simple for you to see how this Periscope "live streaming" stuff works at TRANSACT15.  Real-time simple if you have an iPhone (sorry Android users but Twitter is still working on an Android version of Periscope). Just download Periscope and it will intelligently connect with your Twitter account allowing you to immediately start watching feeds, or live stream yourself. Android Users: I will post a few recorded broadcasts as videos and share them on twitter ... especially the good ones.

Throughout the show I will be live streaming from the Twitter handle @emscorporate. If you follow us on Twitter you will see tweets throughout the show beginning with "LIVE ON #PERISCOPE" announcing that a new live feed has just started - just click the link in the tweet and you will be watching the live feed. Once a live feed ends, Periscope will keep it visible for 24 hours ... hearts, comments, and all. The broadcaster also has the ability to download the broadcast to their camera roll.

I will be kicking off the first Periscope live feed tonight at 6:30 pm pst from booth #1617 during TRANSACT15's opening reception.  Please stop by if you have something to say since my goal is to add value to the show conversation. Got a good elevator pitch then bring it by booth #1617 ... or any other topic you think would be of interest to attendees or industry folks watching/listeng from afar.

BONUS READING: For those looking for a "how to" article, I found a nice Pericope tutorial by @AnaHoffman ... Periscope Tutorial: How [and Why] Use Twitter’s Periscope