Up ‘Periscope’

Twitter’s launch of Periscope, which allows anybody to live stream video from a smartphone to anyone in the world with a simple click of a button, has profound implications for the communications world, creating millions of “on-the-scene reporters” and another medium to engage for the investor relations and public relations industry.  Fittingly, in the announcement of the app, Twitter said, “A picture may be worth a thousand words, but live video can take you someplace and show you around.”

With the ability to instantly notify followers that you’re live, Periscope adds an element that’s been missing with the use of video in IR and PR worlds: immediacy.  Live streaming provides for immediate action in a crisis, while also allowing for greater transparency by going beyond the 140-word character limit of Twitter.  Everything from an earnings conference call to a product announcement can now be broadcast live.

At the same time, it opens up a whole set of risks, including as PR News discusses, a “new chapter for the hot-mic problem,” not to mention a bevy of disclosure issues. Of course, it will take several years before live streaming becomes more commonplace. In the meantime, it makes sense to ponder the possibilities of how it could make your story more compelling.

— Matt Sheldon, msheldon@pondel.com