Meerkat a live streaming app that launched just before SXSWi on the 10th March 2015 has enabled wishful viewers who weren’t able to attend the conference in person to vicariously experience the event through their mobile phones.
Meetkat connects the camera on your phone to your Twitter feed. Users simply have to type in a status, hit stream and a link is sent out to your Twitter followers with live video from wherever you are filming.
The live streaming platform is in its early days but the aim is it will expand the reach of citizen journalism. Throughout SXSW journalists and conference attendees have been using the app to broadcast live a range of exclusive activity and enable viewers worldwide to experience the event in real time.
The app surpassed 100,000 users over the weekend however it is not the only live streaming app. Other live streaming apps include: Teleparty, Stre.am and Periscope (which was recently acquired by Twitter).
Brands such as Starbucks, MasterCard and MTV are just a few of the brands who have been experimenting with the new technology. Redbull used Meerkat to live stream the Red Bull Double Pipe Snowboarding Finals from Aspen.
It will be interesting to see if Meetkat takes off but what is certain is that live video has been a hot topic at this year’s SXSW for apps, start-ups and companies aiming to capitalise on the trend.
the marketing hype 