Facebook Support Added To Meerkat

An update was released on Saturday for the Meerkat app to reduce its dependence of Twitter. Support for Facebook was added into the app, which allows videos to be live-streamed among users. The new feature gives users the opportunity to announce live streams to their friends on Facebook.

The update also provided Address Book integration, which allows users to connect with contacts automatically through the app. The app was initially designed to publish streams through Twitter. Each time a live-stream is started, the Twitter account of a follower would receive a link to the live stream.

While the feature allowed the app become popular among Twitter users, it was also its biggest disadvantage.

A live streaming platform was unveiled by Twitter last March. The app, called Periscope, also had the same features as Meerkat since it automatically sent a live stream link to followers. Periscope users reached 1 million within the first ten days it was released into the market, according to Twitter. The revelation was made during an earnings call last Wednesday.

Meerkat Receives Updates - image credit: mashable.com

Twitter is expected to provide support for Periscope to ensure its success since it owns the app. This may have a negative impact on Meerkat in the coming months. But, with its Facebook integration, the reliance of the app on Twitter will decrease. Facebook support provides the app the opportunity for growth since it is the biggest social network in the market. Periscope is not expected to be integrated into Facebook any time in the near future.

Aside from Facebook support, the company also unveiled its mobile app through the Google Play store. For the moment, the mobile app is still in beta, which means it still has to work out some kinks in the system. However, it is important to take note of the fact that the app is already available to Android users before Periscope. This gives it a significant advantage over the live-streaming app of Twitter.

The company is also aiming to promote popular live feeds through a feature called “mobbing.” The new feature aims to increase viewership since a stream with a suitable number of viewers will be syndicated by the company through its official feed. It can also be used in promoting popular feeds.

Ben Rubin, CEO and co-founder of Meerkat, said mobs develop whenever a certain viewership level is reached by users. He said a mob requires fifty concurrent viewers along with a certain level of engagement among users and retention in the stream.

In addition to the Google Play Store, the Meerkat app is also available through the App Store of Apple.

Posted by George Daniels on Tuesday May 05 2015, 10:14 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Technology. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0