http://jtechblm.tumblr.com/post/148762699022/july-17th-swanston-street-melbourne-black-lives
“WE GON’ BE ALRIGHT” BLACK LIVES MATTER RALLY HITS MELBOURNE.
The newsworthy event I chose to cover on Periscope was the Black Lives Matter Rally held at Federation Square on the 17th of July. Periscope undisputedly has its redeemable qualities as a news-sharing app; however, it does have its shortcomings. Interface wise, Periscope proves to be easy to control, with simple tabs for navigation. The app allows users to maneuver an interactive world map, zooming in and out on particular parts of the world and clicking on dots that indicate broadcasts being made live. With over 10 million users, I found that over 20 people from around the world quickly tuned in to my live streams. As Brian Honigman, CEO of Honigman Media said, “although live broadcasting has been around for decades, the technology of Periscope makes it simple for people to connect with others on a personal level.” People were commenting messages of support and intrigue as they watched my live stream, which added a sense of responsibility to actively broadcast the events as they occur. In terms of journalistic value, Honigman reiterates that you should keep your Periscope broadcasts “real, but professional”. This involves taking advantage of the live nature of Periscope, which adds authenticity to your messages. He also says that attention to quality is vital in order to thrive from a journalistic perspective.
From my personal perspective, Periscope has all the makings of an excellent news delivery application. This app has the capability to render professional journalists useless, as everyday people in the midst of news can broadcast their first hand perspective before word has even travelled to mainstream corporations. I particularly approved of Periscope’s “Moderation” process, whereby they present you with the message: “We will occasionally ask you to moderate a comment by quickly determining if it is abuse or spam. Moderation is anonymous.” This “Moderation” process enables Periscope to remain a safe space for all users, as well as encouraging users to be active in the moderating process. In addition, I found it effective for Periscope to offer connections through the people you follow on Twitter to get you started. Often times it can be daunting establishing a fresh social media presence, but with the option to add familiar people, Periscope makes the transition into its app seamless and comfortable. Periscope is similar to Snapchat in respect to how long the broadcast or story stays online (24 hours), however, Periscope is advantageous in that there’s no time limit on a single broadcast, where as Snapchat videos can only film for a maximum of 10 seconds. In terms of uploading footage to City Journal, it is possible to upload video footage if you pay for a plan upgrade via WordPress. Because I do not, however, I had to upload my Periscope to an external platform (I found Tumblr the fastest and easiest) in order to paste the footage into the City Journal Post. All in all, I found Periscope easy to use, effective to broadcast from, and a viable platform for future news presentation.
