Video streaming app Meerkat seems ridiculous. But so did Twitter. [View all]

[steve2470]

http://www.vox.com/2015/3/11/8191039/meerkat-explained

There's a new social media fad that's going crazy on Twitter — people have started linking to a service called Meerkat. If you click these links fast enough, it will take you to a live video stream — probably of your friend doing something mundane like walking down the street or eating lunch.

Meerkat has attracted tens of thousands of users in just a couple of weeks. And it seems silly. But most social media startups seemed silly when they were founded. Instagram seemed frivolous. Twitter seemed downright ludicrous.

There have also been plenty of social startups that seemed silly and were silly — think of Yo or Ello. We don't know yet if Meerkat will be a big hit or a one-hit wonder.

Meerkat lets people broadcast live from their phones

To use Meerkat, you need two things: an iPhone and a Twitter account. You download the Meerkat app to your iPhone, enter your Twitter credentials, and can then start broadcasting live video with a few taps. (Right now, it's for iOS only, but an Android app is in the works.)