By Orrin Shawl
Tell me I have no life, but the highlight of my summer was being able to watch my favorite podcasters make their show live on my phone. By using both Blab and Periscope, I was able to sit back, relax and enjoy multiple podcasts.
Periscope is a mobile app that provides live broadcasts from a mobile device. The broadcast can be replayed multiple times, but is only available for a limited time period. Periscope displays live comments from viewers and sessions you “like” can automatically be tweeted to your account.
Blab is also a mobile app that provides live broadcasts. It broadcasts up to four people talking at the same time, which usually requires a host with other users calling in. This app also allows you to view conversations at a later time.
That all being said, here are how the two apps differ from each other:
1) Topics
Whenever I go to the home screen for Blab, it’s all too easy for me to find streams about topics relating to public relations such as hashtags, blogging tips, small business marketing and news recaps.
Periscope feeds mostly seem to be random people laying on their beds and chatting with their watchers about their lives. I’ve also seen reporters use it for meetings. It’s not as focused to one certain topic like blab is.
2) Social Media
Basically, Blab is the live-streaming version of LinkedIn and Periscope is like Facebook in its early days.
Since I monitor my Twitter often, the people I follow who use Periscope automatically have tweets sent out announcing they’re using it. Blab doesn’t have that, and it’s harder for me to tell when my favorite people are using it. However, Blab keeps their streams available to watch for a much later time than Periscope, which only has their replay streams up for about a day before it disappears (like Snapchat).
3) Function
To me, Blab is much better when it comes to networking with professionals. You can go to their website (blab.im) or go on the app and see several discussions about several business-related topics. However, Blab streams have frozen up on me way fewer times than Periscope.
As far as I could tell, Periscope had been around since June, where Blab (still in its Beta phase) has been around since September. Blab has similarities to Periscope with a major exception of more than one live stream being able to appear on the same screen like Google Hangouts.
Periscope may not be taken as seriously as Blab when it comes to professional conversations, but the heart floating up the side of their stream like chimney smoke is a nice touch.