The idea of live-streaming is very interesting to me, although it's clear that the technology for it still has a long way to go. Since I don't have iOS8, I was only able to use Periscope and can't comment on the usability of Meerkat, but I still think the technology itself has a lot of potential.
I decided to do a couple tours of various parts of campus, going around the UC and the front lawn with all the tours going on today. Then I went through STEPS and gave a tour of the various floors and things within the building. I had trouble for both broadcasts in terms of posting to Twitter. I tried different things for both times and neither time it successfully posted to Twitter. I got some interaction, but I can see how posting it to Twitter would obviously increase the following, especially for me considering how many followers I have. I still got a few people watching the videos I did.
I actually got the most interaction/viewers for the practice video we did in class. I got lots of hearts and a peak of about 25 viewers. Some of the people watching were creepy or likely just trying to find out personal information, but that's just a part of what this technology brings.
I think Periscope has many features in the world of news, but mostly for either visually appealing news or breaking news items. While walking around campus and giving a tour can be interesting, it wouldn't get as many viewers as a live-stream of an event on campus or a sporting event, which is where it might apply to me directly. I think it can work for multiple types of stories, but it just depends on how you use it. While live-streaming a class may sound visually boring, content-wise it could be very interesting depending on the topic of discussion.
The idea that anyone can live-stream anything at any time to Twitter is a little disconcerting, especially to the average person. But when you sit down and think about it, it's not much further than being able to take a picture/video and post it anywhere afterwards...it just cuts out the middle part. I definitely looked ridiculous holding my phone up to things and seemingly talking to myself, but I think with a little time, this technology could be utilized in a great way in journalism.
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