"Explore the world through someone else's eyes"... and no I'm not referring to a warg.

Last month I wrote a post about a few of Twitter's aggressive growth initiatives. Today, I share with you their newest one, Periscope.

Launched just two days ago, Periscope is Twitter's response to Meerkat, a live-streaming video app.  Although it is only available on iOS devices, the product has attracted the attention of many users and brands.

What is Periscope?  It is a platform for streaming live video from your iPhone from anywhere in the world (that has a connection). Just download the app from the Apple store, log in, enable the camera and become a broadcaster.  Not in the mood to be famous yet?  Well, you can always watch other peoples' videos instead.  The popularity of live-streaming videos is the idea of discovering the world through someone else's eyes.  As described by the creators of Periscope, " a picture may be worth a thousand words, but live video can take you someplace and show you around." As with Twitter, this app allows you to follow people and be alerted of their new broadcasts.  You also have the option to browse around for something that catches your eyes.  And if you don't have enough time to watch the entire video, you can always save it and watch it later.

 And the most loved feature of Periscope... the hearts that you can give to the videos you like or love.  Similar to a "like" button, this feature lets you send a heart or even many hearts to the broadcaster of your choice and with enough hearts, this person can be featured as a "most loved".

The product has already gained some early adopters.  Adweek, shared information on how 4 brands are already using the Periscope app.

Spotify, a music-streaming service posted a behind-the-scenes video with Conor O'Brien from the band Villagers.

"During the live stream, 382 viewers tuned into the live stream, racking up 1,534 hearts—the equivalent of "liking" something on Facebook.  As of 6 p.m. last night, the video had been replayed 99 times and received 255 hearts."

 

The brand used the app to create a short video titled "Stop by to say what's up."

"The short clip showed a girl spelling out the word "Swag" on a chalkboard with a table full of branded T-shirts and hats in front of it."

 

Red Bull, known for their sense of adventure and risk, always open to trying new things, experimented with Periscope during Miami Music Week this weekend. 

"The brand will live stream events happening at its Red Bull Guest House. Social content will also be pushed out via Twitter and Snapchat."

And the fourth brand, DKNY, gave viewers a look into its fashion closet last week, shortly after announcing it had opened an account via Twitter.

"Fashion brands already regularly employ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to give folks a peek into its world, so it's likely that fashion-minded marketers will embrace Periscope."

Are you willing to give Periscope a try?

Twitter's been a busy bird

Twitter has taken an aggressive approach with growth this year.  In the last few weeks, they have rolled out group direct messages and native video sharing, entered into a deal with Google search results, launched Curator, and just today, announced the purchase of Niche.  The acquisition price has not been officially announced but a report estimated $30 million.

Niche is a service that connects top social media users with brands.  The New York based start-up helps creatives make money by matching them up with advertisers and brands.  Niche also offers free analytic tools to creatives so they can see what is and isn’t working, while allowing brands to browse leader boards and collaborate with top creators on marketing campaigns.  It’s all about big data and analytic.

The director of product management at Twitter, Baljeet Singh revealed in his post that over the past year “Niche has been a key partner to Twitter and Vine” and that “the company has helped fuel the creator economy by developing leading technology, consisting of free, cross-platform analytics, as well as connecting the creative community directly with the world’s biggest brands."

What does this mean for Twitter?  This move means that they are now the owner of a social media talent agency. Twitter can now tap into a revenue stream it wasn’t previously partaking in.   

What does this mean for Niche?  "More tools, more platforms, and even more opportunities to team up with the best advertisers in the world."