Your first question is how is that different from Youtube? The answer is because it is Live, in the moment. Youtube has become dominated by professional channels of broadcasters. Which is good when you want to watch a show, but if you are looking for spontaneous news or entertainment, Periscope has stepped in to fill that void. These are not professionally made videos and that is what gives them their charm. You are a voyeur into whatever it is the broadcaster wants to share.
You second question is why should I care? There are two important reasons to care. First, it is a new kind of entertainment that has grabbed me and millions of others that have become instant addicts. Second, if you have a product, service or "personality" to share there are ways to promote it through Periscope that could dramatically increase your exposure.
Let me give you an example of some of the coolest things I have seen on Periscope to give you a feel for its appeal.
The Script improv music jam with Colton Avery - The drummer of The Script, Glen Power, mans the Twitter and Periscope handle @thescript for the band. Power is also a talented guitarist and last night in his dressing room, he and Colton Avery (a musician from AZ currently touring with The Script) did an impromptu jam session for fans. They asked fans to give them 2 random words and they would create a song revolving around those words which turned out to be Thunder and Lightning. Avery is a very talented guitarist and both provided amazing harmonies together. The two came up with a fantastic song on the spot that sounded radio ready. You cannot find that kind of spontaneous, behind the scenes access from any other source!
The Ellen Show - Every afternoon, writers from the Ellen Degeneres show take us inside their Viral Video meeting where they hash out the funniest videos for the taped show that day. If that is one of your favorite parts of the Ellen Show, then you will really enjoy seeing all the videos they reviewed to come up with the 2-3 that they use on the show.
Do you have a desire to see Paris, but can't afford it. Two of the most followed scopers are two Parisians who broadcast walking and biking tours of Paris. Euro Maestro (@euromaestro) and Claire Waddington (@clairewad) have been transplanted from the US and Britian, respectively. They provide amazing tours and insights from probably the most beautiful city in the World. They are definitely worth the follow whether you have never been or your heart aches to get back to Paris.
What could you do with Periscope to create a unique name and personality for yourself on the app? Here are some of my favorite uses for the application and ways you could use it.
Tours - I would have expected more people to take Euro and Claire's lead to create tours from fascinating cities around the world. Surprisingly, I cannot find that many other city tours yet. Do you live in an interesting place like London, Cairo, Istanbul, Barcelona, San Francisco or Shanghai? Almost any city in the world has interesting aspects but if you live in a fascinating city, then you are sitting on a potential goldmine for gaining.followers. Make sure to write your descriptions in English as it is the universal language of the Internet and most of the Periscope users are still from the US. So if you want to gain traction, you have to do it in English!
Real Estate Tours - Whether you are a real estate agent trying to sell a property or a homeowner with a really cool property, Periscope can be an amazing tool. I think in the future, a Periscope tour of the home will be almost a necessity for selling a home. It is so easy to do and provides a much better feel for the home than photos. I also think we will get many more tours of celebrities homes in the future. We all want to see how the "other half" lives and these would make fascinating scopes.
Cooking Shows - If you are a good cook and/or creative in the kitchen, there is no reason you can't become a star on Periscope. You can highlight unique recipes or lifestyle choices (e.g., gluten free, etc). If you have a food product, you can highlight interesting ways to use it while preparing meals or snacks.
Quick Training and How-To Videos - We all have some unique talent, why not share it with the world. Have you found some interesting hacks that make life easier for you? Why not share those with the world. This category is almost limitless. You can also save your videos to your phone and upload them to Youtube to create a lasting channel of the videos.
Share your Expertise - If you are a consultants, this may be the perfect medium for you to expand your reach. Why not create a weekly broadcast on your topic of expertise. You can provide your own insights and also interview other industry figures to further enhance the experience for followers. I think this would be great for Public Relations, Head Hunters, Social Media consultants, Tax advisors, really any knowledge worker whose expertise can benefit others.
News and Events - Much the way Twitter became the place to break news stories, Periscope is going to be the place first hand video of these news events. In the near future, We are going to see amazing live video right on the scene of the biggest news stories from around the World. We often get this footage later on Youtube, but now you can get it or provide it real-time on Periscope.
So get out there and start scoping and finding great scopers to follow.
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