As soon as I heard about Periscope, even before I downloaded the app, I knew it would be a game changer in the way the world connects. This love connection only became stronger when I downloaded it and started playing. Here’s five reasons I believe you should be on Periscope and why you should #ScopeWithJacob, #YourPersonalCoach. 

YouTube, who was bought by Google in 2006 for US$1.65 billion, is still the big player in video sharing on the internet. However, social media platforms such as Facebook, have been placing a greater emphasis on video. 

Twitter recently joined the video bandwagon, purchasing Periscope for a reported $100 million and launching it in March 2015. 

Until recently, videos on social media have mostly been about filming, editing and uploading. You watch someone from the past. Periscope allows you to live stream your world to the world. While others such as Meerkat are doing the same thing, the user experience is much more comprehensive with Periscope; who provide replays, profiles, timelines and the ability to save your broadcasts. 

What I Love About Periscope



• Immediate Feedback. People can write comments and tap the screen to send you hearts. The hearts serve as positive reinforcement and this really helps if you’re feeling nervous about your broadcast. I believe the delay between writing a comment and it appearing on the screen is only two seconds, as opposed to about ten seconds with the rival app, Meerkat. This allows for immediate interaction with your audience and a great experience for both sides of the broadcast. 

• Connection. Periscope allows you to connect with people easily. You get a notification on your phone when someone you follow starts broadcasting. You can simply swipe to join the scope. You can also catch the replay if that’s been activated. 

• Simplicity. All you need is a smart phone and a Twitter account. Once you’ve created a username and password for your Twitter account, you simply download the Periscope app and start recording (and watching). 

• Huge Following. Since March 2015 to the time of writing this blog (August 2015), Periscope has over 10 million users. That’s a huge following of people very quickly. When I was just playing around with the app last Saturday morning, I clicked broadcast and filmed my TV for ten seconds to check out how it worked. In that short amount of time, I had ten people join the broadcast. One person even hearted it - Thanks M5m5h :-) 

• Video. It seems video is the way of the future for social media. People love to see and experience things and video provides a great way to do that. Broadcasting live takes social media to the next level of interactiveness. I’ve done a few #ScopesWithJacob now and I was pretty nervous. However, with practice, I’m getting better at it - just like anything.  

The world is changing drastically in the way we connect. As technology advances, so to does the ability to connect with more people in deeper ways. Periscope is a game changing app. I highly suggest you download it and check it out. If you do, follow me @JacobTAndreae and join the discussion on my blogs every Wednesday at 3pm CST.

Have you tried Periscope yet? If so, what do you think? If not, what’s been stopping you? 

Leave your answer to those questions in the comments section below.