Entertainment Insider Access Live: Meerkat

John Biggs writes about Meerkat in a TechCrunch article titled, Schrödinger’s Meerkat, to make the reader feel stupid, even before s/he reads the article.

I disagree with every single thing John writes here.

Let's look at two things he says:

1. SMALL NUMBERS ARE MEANINGLESS

None of us, not even Jim Gaffigan with his million or so followers, can gather enough people with live video to make it meaningful.

Wrong.

Jim just live streamed with Meerkat on location while shooting a scene for his new TV show. This was one of the most creative uses of Meerkat I've seen yet.

This was great! @JimGaffigan and @michaelianblack Filming their TV show on @AppMeerkat pic.twitter.com/sBvwbLwuJX

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) March 30, 2015

This, along with Jimmy Fallon's live streaming of the monologue rehearsal for the Tonight Show, show how live streamed video can be meaningful.

@jimmyfallon Great to see it live! pic.twitter.com/xrs77468m4

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) March 24, 2015

2. LIVE VIDEO REQUIRES PLANNING

Live video is a very specific medium and requires a great deal of planning to pull off well. While we can complain of the dumbing-down of global media, unfettered live streaming is dumber still.

Wrong.

Live video doesn't have to planned for.

Questlove has been engaging his followers with un-planned live streams all around New York City, letting us in on rehearsal sessions, pre-parties, man on the street interviews, and more. When I get a notification that Questlove is streaming, I'm watching.

@questlove So much fun! pic.twitter.com/w6CxuN84Lv

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) March 19, 2015

Al Roker is great to. A natural storyteller.

.@alroker tells about the first time Don Pardo announced his name. #meerkat https://t.co/0ZrPgMwYqs

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) March 20, 2015

Follow me on Meerkat.