OVER THE PAST fortnight or so, you may have noticed a number of tweets reading “|LIVE NOW|” begin to infiltrate your timeline.
You may have even been briefly seized with worry that Twitter was imploring you to go outside.
But thankfully, Twitter has yet to become sentient (and therefore can’t judge you for staying inside all day).
Instead, the “|LIVE NOW|” tweets are all to do with a new livestreaming app called Meerkat, which is taking the tech world by storm.
The app was launched at the end of February and quickly took off on Twitter.
But what is it?
It’s an easy-to-use app, which enables users to broadcast live from their iPhones. Meerkat is linked to your Twitter profile and notifies your followers when you’re livestreaming. (There is no Android app as of yet.)
According to Meerkat, streams can only be watched live and cannot be replayed or rewound.
No reruns.
So far, it has been widely embraced by public figures like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who used the app to livestream her SXSW panel, Questlove and Marc Maron.
The app was also the toast of SXSW, where it was repeatedly described as “disruptive” because of course.
Still confused?
The app’s creator talks viewers through it, in this CNN report:
So, is Meerkat set to become the new Snapchat or Vine?
Possibly.
It just raised $12 million and is already being tipped as being the “social media tool” of the 2016 presidential election.
But where there’s hype, there’s also skepticism…
Will Meerkat be the next Snapchat or is it just another Ello?
Only time will tell.
One thing is for sure, though — meerkating most definitely a verb now.
- Amy O’Connor
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