In order to amp up competition against rival social networking platforms, Twitter has now made it possible for its users to broadcast live videos right from the app with the help of a single tap. The new feature comes as part of the newest update that the app has rolled out for its Android and iOS users today. If you update Twitter on your smartphone, you will be able to start a live streamimmediately after you click on the Compose icon. Viewers will even be able to send in their reactions as you continue to stream.
This is certainly an upgrade than what Twitter users used to experience before. While live broadcasting has been an option available on Twitter for a while now, it would redirect the user to Periscope- the live broadcasting platform that was the answer to Meerkat, one of the pioneers of live video streaming. The latter suffered a slow death after Periscope was acquired by Twitter back in 2015. But Periscope continued to flourish both as an independent app and as Twitter’s trusty live broadcasting tool. But whereas the Twitter mobile app would be equipped with a Periscope button before, the new update has eliminated the need for that.
The new live video update still remains powered by Periscope, reports The Verge, so there is no doubt that Twitter won’t change its platform anytime soon. But what should concern Periscope at this point is that with this direct integration, the download stats for the independent app is likely to go down by scores. Before, Twitter users would need to have the Periscope app installed on their phones to broadcast a video on Twitter. However, the team over at Periscope remains largely optimistic that the slew of functions that the app provides will keep raking in users. For Twitter, the new integration is undoubtedly a strategy to take on Facebook Live.
