Five People You Should Follow on Periscope
I was a Periscope skeptic. When I first checked it out I didn’t get it at all. What I saw was random people around the world sitting on their couch watching TV or laying in their bed looking half dead. I even saw someone scope their entire grocery shopping trip in total silence. (I fast-forwarded that one on replay. There’s only so much I can sacrifice for research.) I thought why on earth would anyone want to watch people do boring stuff live in real-time?
I should also state that I’m not a big video watcher in general. I don’t subscribe to many YouTubers, And if an article has a video to go with it, I’d much rather read the words and skim the pictures.
If you were around during the infancy stages of YouTube I would have told you the same thing. Who wants to watch random people’s boring family vacation movies, where Grandpa left the lens cap on for half of the video? Then it got better. And more people started using YouTube to show interesting, funny, or educational videos. It became a way to get a peek into other people’s lives and perspectives. Periscope is much the same. It’s just a baby, and it’s learning to walk. BUT, the concept of live broadcasting is here to stay folks. Soon we won’t remember ever not having it around. It will become another social media channel that everyone will need to master to expand their audience.
What makes it unique is how interactive it is. You are asking questions and the broadcaster is reading and responding to you. Now you’re not just a bystander, passively watching a pre-recorded video. You’re a participant, along for the ride, influencing the outcome and expressing your thoughts on what you’re seeing. Instead of watching a tour guide, you’re on the tour. That makes all the difference in the way the experience feels to the audience. It becomes social. Personal in a way that other types of media lack.
What I find most interesting about this is that it’s so real. The broadcaster has to react and engage spontaneously in real life situations. No script. No prompts. If you Periscope long enough, people will eventually see the real you. You can’t be fake for very long. What does this mean? That means that many popular personalities and celebrities will not do well on Periscope. They won’t like it because they can’t be “camera perfect” every moment. They can’t say the perfect things all the time. If they’re a complete jerk you will see it. I think that’s awesome! 🙂 I mean, I don’t know about you, but I want people to be real. If they’re truly a good person, their imperfections will make me like them more, not less.
So I’m going to tell you my top five Periscopers I think you should watch. If you haven’t tried Periscope yet, then download the free app and give these guys a try. I’m willing to bet that pretty soon you will be hooked. And you will look forward to the times when they broadcast and you can catch up on what’s going on in their lives, and see what they want to share with you. If these guys aren’t your cup of tea, there are many, many others. If you need more details on how to get started with Periscope read this. I chose these scopers to give you a variety of styles and approaches.
Five Periscopers to follow now: (In no particular order)
- 1- Libby at Adventure Spin– When you watch Libby you will see what a truly sweet person she is. I can tell you that meeting her in person she is exactly the same. I love when people are like that- what you see is what you get. Know what I mean? Her family is so great too and you will see them in her scopes sometimes too. She has such a passion for sharing the magic of Disney with other people. And she does just that.
- 2- Chris Spokesmayne– he’s a YouTuber who does a weekly Disney & Universal vlog. He’s on Periscope a lot while he’s in the parks. You will find his energy and enthusiasm to be contagious. He’ll give you a great look at a lot of the attractions in the theme parks as well as any special seasonal events. He has a big following. But he’s incredibly gracious to his followers. You won’t feel that he’s too “big” to respond to chat or to say hello if he sees fans in the parks.
- 3- May-365 at Disney– May is a mom who went to Disney everyday for a year. Now that challenge is done and she still scopes in the parks and shows you what she’s up to. She is usually with her two daughters, Twinkie and Tootie. I’m telling you guys you will love them. They are so quirky and bubbly and fun. They are known for their fashion and fun outfits. As May said in one of the first scopes I watched of hers, “I can’t dress normal.” And you won’t want her to. I still want to hang out with them sometime, because they seriously are just so much fun. For Thanksgiving this year, they decided they didn’t feel like cooking a big dinner. So they instituted the 1st annual Turkey Leg Challenge. They had to each travel to a different theme park, get a turkey leg, and meet back to see who would be first. It was awesome. Check them out. They don’t scope everyday (sadly) but when they do try to catch them.
- 4- Euro Maestro– Euro is a world traveler, located primarily in Paris. His coverage of the Paris shootings was riveting. I learned more from watching him than CNN. He speaks many languages and is always someplace new. We got to meet him recently and I can honestly say he’s one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. There is something unique about people who are so well-traveled. They have a perspective on life that you can’t have when you have lived all your life in one country. His scopes are interesting, he is very engaging with his audience, and has a wide knowledge base of politics and current world events.
- 5-Keith from Disney Project– Keith’s true passion is Walt Disney’s legacy. He lives in California and works with the Disney family museum there. I love when he scopes from Disneyland and talks about the history and memories of Walt that are in that park. It’s so interesting. He has been to every Disney park in the world. His knowledge base is pretty impressive and he’s always happy to share it with others. If you are a fan of Walt’s legacy, or want to know more about it, he’s the one to follow.
There are many more scopers I could name. If you try any of these people, let me know! Tweet me, or leave me a comment here. And of course, I have to just mention, quite casually, that you should follow me on Periscope as well. 🙂