Twitter is reportedly urging celebs to switch from Meerkat to Periscope
Twitter, Inc. is not a fan of people sharing media using third-party apps on its microblog platform, especially when the site has its own alternatives. But rather than targeting the average user, the social media company tends to go after the trendsetters who set an example for everyone else. This is what happened back in January when the company sent out a message urging power users to tweet pictures using Twitter’s native image sharing features rather than sharing links to Instagram.
Now, Twitter is reportedly using the same tactic to get celebrities to ditch live video streaming app Meerkat in favor of its own product, Periscope.
“Twitter hounds every celebrity after they try Meerkat. Almost to the point of stalking,” a source told TechCrunch. “Twitter is absolutely obsessed with Meerkat. They talk about it all the time to the point that the Periscope employees and founders are angry.”
Twitter announced its acquisition of Periscope barely one month ago, around the same time that its rival, Meerkat, made a big splash at SXSW in Austin, Texas. While the concept of livestreaming from a smartphone is still in its infancy, Periscope already has an uphill battle against the arguably more popular Meerkat.
“Twitter’s move here shows how significant Meerkat has become”
While it can’t shut down Meerkat outright, Twitter has made a few backend changes that made things a little less convenient for the livestreaming app. This included cutting off Meerkat’s access to Twitter’s social graph, which made it a little less convenient for users to use their account to automatically follow people on Meerkat whom they were already following on Twitter.
At the time, Meerkat co-founder Ben Rubin took the move as a positive sign for the app, saying, “Twitter’s move here shows how significant Meerkat has become. This is a small bump for Meerkat, a product built in only 8 weeks by one person, and a sad day for the Twitter developer community who build amazing products that help us connect with each other.”
If Twitter’s failure to get people to stop sharing Instagram links is any indication, it may have a tough fight ahead of it.
Image credit: Periscope
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