I remember the first time I saw Periscope, a Twitter app that allows its users to stream video live, being used. It was during the Compassion Step Up walk. Parkview Christian Church’s lead minister, Brian White, was using it while we were walking through each station. I was intrigued, but my first thought was, “Why doesn’t Bobby, my husband, know about this.”
I am not tech savvy in the least. I might have a lot of tech kind of items, but it is only because Bobby has brought it home or introduced me to it in some form or fashion. It is a well known fact that if he hadn’t been encouraging me for years to start a blog, I wouldn’t have one. So that he never mentioned Periscope, only led me to the conclusion he must not know about it. I was wrong (maybe the first time in a long time). He was well aware of Periscope, he just hadn’t clued me into it yet.
Fast forward several months to the historic discovery and opening of the time capsule at the Wayne County, Ohio Courthouse. Bobby decided that he was going to use Periscope to broadcast the event live. People from around the globe were able to watch with eager anticipation (and sometime rude comments) the event as it actually unfolded. Bobby wrote about it from his perspective in a blog. If you want to read it, click here.
So this past Saturday, March 12, 2016, I actually got to watch Bobby use Periscope live…I mean in person. We were having breakfast with our family. This included my parents, Bud and Dolores, our niece, Ashley, and our great-nephews, DeAveon and Noah. Although on this day, it wasn’t DeAveon and Noah, but AJ Styles and Tyler, their wrestling personas. Up until that time, I had no idea they had wrestling personas, but then who knows what happens when you use Periscope!
I remember watching bits and pieces of the WWF when I was a kid. I never really liked it, but my sister, Sonni, loved it. I could never understand all the screaming and yelling and boasting and all that was going on while the commentators talked to the wrestlers either before or after the matches! So Saturday, I got to see it live and on Periscope. (I was watching Bobby’s feed on my phone while Bobby and the boys were broadcasting.) They basically acted like the wrestlers I remembered…only a little less screaming and yelling, but a whole lot of boasting about being the best/greatest. Ashley even got into a little.
What I like about Periscope is that you can make comments and ask questions, by typing them in the comment box. This way the person broadcasting can answer the questions live. I also like that you can give immediate feedback if you like what you are watching. You simply tap the screen and these little hearts start floating up the screen. Plus, because you are streaming live and if you have a following, people from all over the world can watch. I think on Saturday there was a viewer from Ireland. The boys thought that was great. They did a few different broadcasts, which apparently gets saved and can be viewed later. Again, who knew?! The boys also enjoyed watching themselves and replayed their videos a couple of times. However, Periscope only makes the link available for 24 hours.
I’ve never done a live broadcast myself. However, with Bobby “encouraging” me ever deeper into social media, I imagine it just might happen. If you want to start following me, either on Twitter or Periscope, my user name is @wendiwarrenblog. Bobby is @BobbyWarrenTDR. By the way, if you want to view a broadcast beyond the 24 hours, you’ll need to save it onto a computer or something. I know, I’ve got a long way to go…
