Letting the World Watch: We’re All Stars and All Voyeurs

The rise of streaming video apps like Periscope makes us comfortable with the idea of broadcasting our own  lives –  and watching our friends too.

By Alain StephensApril 7, 2016 3:56 pm,

Remember when we used to talk about interactive TV? There’s something much more important on the air these days – you.

In 2016 we’re all TV broadcasters. This week, the world’s largest social media network announced plans to launch a new feature allowing its 1.6 billion users to broadcast live. Welcome to the era of You & Me TV.

Tracking the trend is Digital Savant of the Austin American-Statesman’s 512Tech, Omar Gallaga. Facebook Live, the live-streaming feature available now, can be used to stream to your friends and family. This kind of streaming has been around for awhile, but one service was a smash last year at South by Southwest: Meerkat.

“What Meerkat did really well that got everybody’s attention… was just make it super-easy to do it from a phone,” he says. “It was pretty decent quality and it gave people the ability ot chat with the people that were watching.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

– How Meerkat fared once Twitter’s streaming app Periscope came on the scene

– What the Kardashians have to do with making streaming apps more comfortable

– Why these streaming apps are different from just posting regular videos