Meerkat may have done Twitter a favor by building hype around live video streaming ahead of the launch of Periscope, but the microblogging platform certainly isn't returning the favor. Instead, Twitter is said to be encouraging high-profile Meerkat users to ditch the service in favor of Periscope... or else.
Some say that live streaming video is the next big thing in mobile. The future has yet to confirm or deny that theory but regardless of how it all plays out in the end, it's clear that the two early frontrunners aren't interested in sharing the spoils associated with being pioneers. Multiple sources have told TechCrunch that Twitter is obsessing over the idea of converting celebrities and media companies to its own streaming app to the point that it's causing some internal tension within the company.
Twitter has reportedly gone so far as to imply that if certain media companies don't switch to Periscope, their access to Amplify will be shut off. Amplify is more or less Twitter's equivalent of commercial television.
Meerkat has also been doing some scouting of its own. The publication's original story noted that the company had reached out to celebrities from Vine in an effort to get them to jump ship. Meerkat had at least some success in getting Madonna to use the service exclusively although in an update on the matter, CEO Ben Rubin said his team only reached out to Vine stars before the launch of Meerkat for another app called Yevvo.
Competition aside, it'll be interesting to see what sort of impact these two apps - and the onslaught of copycats that are sure to follow - will have on the overall social landscape and even in niche areas like journalism.