@sxsw @AppMeerkat vs @Twitter’s @periscopeco – How Periscope submarine-like launch sunk the Meerkat Destroyer

I personally thought the latest thing to come out of SXSW (South by South West) 2015 on Monday March 16^th 2015 was going to be the AeroMobil Hybrid Car-Plane  as predicted in my blog article entitled “@aeromobil Hybrid Car-Plane prototype - How Mind Controlled Autonomous Flying-Vehicles will Revolutionize Road Trips in the Future”.

Boy was I wrong.

It now seems that the instant Live streaming App Meerkat was the toast of the festival, mainly because of Twitter's rejection of the app in favour of its own Periscope as noted in the article “Meerkat boss upbeat despite Twitter clampdown”, published March 16, 2015 By Trevor Mogg, DigitalTrends. 

Meerkat was launched exclusively for Apple iOS in late February 2015 before made its debut at SXSW in Austin Texas as noted in the article “Meerkat app shows the potential for live streaming on Twitter”, published MAR 02, 2015 BY SETH FIEGERMAN, Mashable.

It’s a Live Video Streaming app that allows you to stream to an anonymous audience in real time as explained by Meerkat CEO Ben Rubin in the article “What is Meerkat? Founder explains most-discussed app of SXSW”, published Mar 16, 2015 BY PHIL NOLAN, Mashable.

It's tied into the Twitter Social Graph, a concept similar to Facebook Graph that taps into information within Twitter’s API to allow Third-party apps to connect with users using statistical data generated by Twitter users.

In the case of Meerkat, that means you'd get an instant notification of a Meerkat Live stream from ANYONE who has the Meerkat app installed once you were following the Meerkat Twitter feed, whether or not that persons was also following the Meerkat Twitter feed. They only need to be on Twitter following your Twitter Feed.

Meerkatters (yes, that’s a word) could also alert their twitter followers by posting tweets indicating that they were streaming live or receive a notification via the Meerkat app that they were streaming live.

Unfortunately, this over-dependence on Twitter proved to be the Meerkat demise at the hands of none other than Twitter.

SXSW Meerkat vs Twitter’s Periscope – How Periscope submarine like launch sunk the Meerkat Destroyer

Twitter got jealous and scuppered Meerkat’s Twitter Social Graph integration, citing internal regulations as noted in the article “Twitter limits access of fast-growing Meerkat live-stream app”, published March 14, 2015 7:51 AM PDT by Richard Nieva, CNET News.

Meerkat CEO and sole developer Ben Rubin took the rejection of his app on Friday March 13^th 2015 with an upbeat tone at SXSW, indicating that his one man company was now significant as noted in the article “Twitter cuts Meerkat off from its social graph just as SXSW gets started”, published March 13, 2015 11:14 By Dieter Bohn, The Verge. 

This as even on that very same day, Twitter announced  the acquisition of Periscope as noted in the article “Twitter embraces livestreaming, confirms Periscope purchase”, published March 14, 2015 By Trevor Mogg, DigitalTrends, a similar Live streaming App also announced by VP of Product at Twitter , Kevin Weill in his tweet.

Excited to officially welcome @periscopeco to the Twitter team. Can't wait for everyone to see what they've built! https://t.co/6eAJjpXmaS
— Kevin Weil (@kevinweil) March 13, 2015

Periscope sinks Meerkat – Over Dependence on Twitter and lackluster features as Google Android is Hope

Meerkat is now sinking, based on the decline in Twitter activity as Periscope’s Submarine Conning tower rises out of the waves as noted in Analyst Topy’s Graph in the article “Meerkat, Periscope, and Hope”, published April 1st, 2015 by STEVE WILDSTROM, Techopinions.

Still, Meerkat’s initial draw is still potent, despite Periscope doing its live streaming much better as noted in the article “Here's why Meerkat's popularity is suddenly plunging”, published April 1, 2015 11:01 am by Ben Popper, The Verge.

Good to note that BOTH Meerkat and Periscope will RAPIDLY eat through your Data Plans, so don’t expect any Jamaicans to be trying this App unless they have Wi-Fi as noted in the article “Livestreaming Apps Will Totally Crush Your Data Plan”, published 02.04.2015 by John Patrick Pullen, TIME and “Meerkat and Periscope Can Really Chew Through Your Precious Data”, published 3/31/15  by Kate Knibbs, Gizmodo.

Your avatar posts on Meerkat are actually tweets albeit Meerkat really needs to have an option for later non-live viewing to avoid looking like a SnapChat Clone as noted in the review “Meerkat for iOS review”, published April 2, 2015 By: Jason Parker, CNET News.

Meerkat's dependence on Twitter mean that once you open your Meerkat app, if no one you know is streaming, then you won't see any live stream to select. This could be because of the decoupling of the Twitter Social Graph with Periscope  is thoroughly plugged into.

So Meerkat, thanks for introducing us to Live-Streaming, but Twitter's Periscope submarine-like launch has sunk the Meerkat Destroyer.  Hopefully when the Google Android version comes out, everyone can experience the world through the lens of someone else’s smartphone and give Meerkat a helping hand.

Here's the link:

Meerkat Website

Meerkat on Apple iTunes

Periscope Website

Periscope on Apple iTunes  

Meerkat Twitter Feed: @AppMeerkat

Periscope Twitter Feed: @periscopeco