Meerkat or Periscope?

The fight for the broadcasting of videos in streaming It started a long time ago. However, it was not until a few weeks ago that the battle intensified. Two apps are to blame for all this: Meerkat and PeriscopeSimilar but different, which one to choose?

The decision is complicated because both applications have a lot in common. Mainly, their function. Both follow the philosophy of “what you see is what's happening”; that is, they allow a live video to be broadcast. But, as with the Immortals, there can only be one and the details and its future evolution are what will mark the path to success for both proposals.

Periscope, with the support of a giant in the sector such as Twitter, seems to have a certain advantage in this race. In the comparison, it wins due to small details such as the fact that you can save a playback to watch it at another time; something that Meerkat, which in just a few weeks of existence has raised more than $14 million in investment and has more than 100,000 users, still does not offer.

A success that Twitter was quick to try to stop in favour of its own proposal. Meerkat used the network to send out a tweet announcing the broadcast of a video with a link to access it and thus gain users. Something that Twitter quickly censored by removing Meerkat's access to a series of functionalities that gave it wings in the early stages of life and to which it has had to react quickly in order not to lose steam.

To alleviate this handicap directly related to the creation of a user communityMeerkat recommends featured users to ensure quality content among those who use this app. On the other hand, Periscope draws on Twitter's own database to grow its user base.

Another detail that separates one from the other is the messaging and commenting system on the videos that are broadcast. Periscope, even though it is owned by Twitter, has closed them so that they do not interfere with the timeline of users. A decision that responds to the attempts to try to reduce the noise of the walls, where more and more are appearing comments of lesser interest.

The fact that both have been involved in this battle does not mean that one of the two will ultimately triumph and remain a regular feature on our mobile phones. As we all know, something is great. until something better comes along And in the world of new technologies, nothing is ruled out. However, it seems that Periscope has gained a certain advantage. Will Meerkat be able to react?

For the moment, those who have benefited from this battle are the creators of Looks, a seeker which offers us all the videos that are being broadcast either via Meerkat or Periscope. A good way to see who has and offers more and better content.