The Emergence of Live Video Streaming Apps [Part One]: Meerkat with Joel Comm

April 8, 2015

Have you noticed the emergence of live video streaming apps?

Have you heard of Meerkat?

If not, then this is the episode for you. This week on the Social Media Social Hour podcast, I’m talking with entrepreneur, best-selling author, public speaker, and social media expert Joel Comm. During this episode we discuss Meerkat and the benefits of live video streaming.

About the show:

The Social Media Social Hour is a podcast for marketers and entrepreneurs looking to get on the social media fast track. The podcast is an interview format, where each week I get up close and personal with top brands and influencers to talk social media, tech and online marketing. Each week I also share tools that I personally use to help me with social media management, sales, marketing, accounts management, and productivity. The Social Media Social Hour is presented by Scoreboard Social.

In this episode, here is what you’ll discover:

About Joel Comm:

About Meerkat:

  • Video streaming app that allows anyone to broadcast from their iPhone
    • You can watch on any device or on Meerkat.com
  • From the moment you launch the app it invites you put in what your Meerkat is about and once you hit stream it Tweets it out to your followers with #meerkat
  • You can follow other’s Meerkat streams
    • When people comment on the Meerkat it’s an @ reply on Twitter
      • They’re actually Tweeting causing their following to pay attention!
  • There are events you can schedule if something is coming up and your followers can favorite it and will get a notification when it’s beginning
  • Initially Meerkat was tied into Twitter’s social graph so your followers on Twitter automatically became your followers on Meerkat
    • Twitter has since removed that connection
      • Now you have to specifically seek out who you want to follow
        • It’s still working – Joel has gone from about1,000 to 3,000 followers since the change!
  • People on Meerkat: Jimmy Fallon, Walk Off the Earth, Mashable, etc.
  • As of March 23rd:
    • Over 120,00 users on Meerkat
      • 20% watch 2 hours of video daily
    • Growing 30% a day
  • Ways to use it:
    • Lifestyle
      • Spontaneous
    • Scheduled
      • Plan & promote across platforms
  • Monitoring chat about Meerkats:
    • Follows Twitter stream in real time
  • Favorite things about Meerkat:
    • Ability to quickly & easily stream content in the moment
      • It’s simplicity has made it interesting for Joel again to be able to be in the moment
    • Comments are Tweets
    • Leaderboard gamifies it
  • Suggestions:
    • Option to include the original Meerkat link at the end of comment replies
    • Facebook integration
    • Glitch: saves stream out of order

Mentionable Quotes:

  • “You have to do something that’s worth getting attention.”
  • “It’s all about who’s sharing it – that’s what it comes down to.”
  • “Even if you don’t have a big following, do something that’s really compelling and it could be a way to kick off your social following.”
  • “In the moment is what people want – they want to be where things are happening and video apps like Meerkat allow you to be on the scene.”

Items/people mentioned in the show:

Joel’s Social Media Six Pack:

  1. If you won a mega jackpot lottery what would you do tomorrow? Give away a large portion to a good cause and then go to Hawaii.
  2. When was the last time you wore a suit and tie? I don’t remember – maybe a friend’s wedding last year.
  3. Do you decorate outside of your house at the holidays? No.
  4. What was the last thing you took a picture of? The shirt that I’m wearing.
  5. Have you ever been surfing? I have not.
  6. What’s your favorite type of foreign food? Mexican.

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