So today I participated in the class's Periscope experiment, and my experience once again reinforced my belief that it has the potential to be a great tool to support learning and learner engagement. Actually, the live stream by Vanessa this morning was not the first one that I had viewed, as I had accidentally chanced upon the press conference by the Dallas Police Chief streamed live on Periscope in the earlier hours of the morning.
We all knew about the #Dallas police shooting tragedy that happened last night. And in the next few hours after the incident, I was keenly following news and updates on the Dallas Police Department (@DallasPD) Twitter page when the link on #Periscope to the live press conference by the Dallas Mayor and Police Chief was tweeted out. I then realized that both my Periscope and Twitter accounts are actually linked, which conveniently gave me the opportunity to watch the live stream of the press conference on Periscope.
Immediately, the first thought that came to my mind was how easy, use-friendly and viral this App is in capturing the crucial moments and presenting it to the wider audience. While I was satisfied with following the updates on the Twitter feed, the option of watching the live-broadcast of the press conference was a welcomed surprise. Rather than reading the text updates, the live stream video provided a more enhanced and personable way to present the breaking news, and offered a more unique experience in storytelling to the audience.
My second thought was on the cross-functionality of social media platforms. In this case, I could immediately see how the network and reach of Periscope was exponentially maximized with just a single tweet out via Twitter feed. Viewership in this example was quickly multiplied and contributed by pedestrian users and lurkers who saw the link, and clicked on it. People who followed @DallasPD Twitter feed might also had received notifications of the live-stream and accessed it on their smartphones, mobile device, etc.
Third, the interactivity of the Periscope tool had provided possibilities for the content owner/broadcaster to engage the audience, and vice versa. In the Dallas Police press conference example, we could see viewers offering their condolences, comments and "hearts" live during the broadcast. If designed as a webinar or conference presentation, audience could possibly interact, ask questions and provide feedback during the live event. Users of this tool can also measure the level of engagement that they had achieved with their audience by the number of "hearts" they received during the broadcast.
In conclusion, I feel that Periscope does offer many possibilities for a more creative way of telling stories, present contents or share breaking news. It is definitely a game-changer in the world of live-streaming, due to its easy to use functions, convenience and of course its cross-functionality with Twitter makes it an even more powerful tool than it seems in this new digital age.
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