The latest update for Periscope adds drone integration, a search function and an ability to save live streams. It’s a significant update for a social network that revolves entirely around sharing moments and interactions through comments on a live stream.
The saving feature is straightforward: currently, users can type “#save” when starting a stream, ensuring that their live streamed video is saved for later use.
With the drone and GoPro integration, all that needs to be done is a connection through the phone app. Even better, within the broadcast you can switch from your front and back facing phone cameras, a GoPro and/or your drone.
Narration and sketching over the footage is also possible through the app — in other words, the next David Attenborough could be discovered through Periscope.
Periscope’s CEO and co-founder, Kayvon Beykpour, said the following regarding the update:
“When we launched Periscope, people still hadn’t really embraced live video. We wanted to make the experience as delightful and safe for the broadcaster as possible, and one way to do that was to make the content more ephemeral. We’ve moved past that world in a short amount of time and our community has told us they want the option to save their broadcasts. We’re doing it in a way that feels very true to Periscope, and puts the control in the hands of the broadcaster.”
This is a big step towards a truly live social network, where everything seen through phones on the ground, or the drones in the air, can be shared with an audience who might interact.