They’re calling it the live-streaming app Twitter should have created, and if you haven’t been asked about Meerkat yet chances are good you will be. Like Twitter in 2007, the new app is soaring in popularity after last week’s SXSW gathering of the techies.
So what is it?
Meerkat essentially does for real life what Twitch.tv did for video games. It plugs right into your Twitter account, shoots out a tweet as soon as you start rolling and voila: you’re livestreaming video from your phone straight to the twitterverse. Like Twitch, you can also communicate with your audience in real-time. From TechCrunch:
Earlier today I downloaded Meerkat, and seconds later I was broadcasting a demo of the Boosted Board electric skateboard as I rode through San Francisco. Comments telling me to keep my eyes on the road poured onto my screen.
Meerkat embraces the now-or-never, live-tv style of distribution that users of Snapchat will be familiar with. The video stream cannot be downloaded or shared after the broadcast has ended. Read about Meerkat at TechCrunch or learn which Philadelphia group is invested in the new iPhone app Philadelphia over at Philly.com.
