Behind-the-scenes live footage from UAE concerts and minute-by-minute access to local football matches will soon be only a smartphone-app away, according to bosses at social-networking giant Twitter.
In an exclusive interview with The National – which was broadcast live using Periscope, the live-streaming app acquired by Twitter for US$100 million (Dh367m) – Benjamin Ampen, Twitter's Dubai-based head of sales for the Mena region, revealed that the company plans to work with content creators to drive up viewership for big events in the region through the app.
“Television and smartphones, these are the big trends in the region at the moment,” he says. “We want to build and amplify the synergies between TV, broadcasters and Periscope.” Launched in March, Periscope has experienced an explosion of early adopters, especially in the Middle East.
Users are “scoping” their daily activities, personal moments, events and travel experiences to an audience that can interact in real-time with the person doing the broadcasting.
In the UAE, several government organisations have adopted the streaming service to relay conferences and promote tourism.
According to social-media analytics company Sysomos, Periscope was mentioned more than 19,000 times on Twitter in the UAE last month, with about 8,804 of the tweets originating in Dubai.
Ampen says the Middle East and North Africa region has had the fastest growth of Twitter and Periscope users.
Globally, Twitter has more than a billion users, including 360 million with their own accounts, and 500 million who read tweets without signing up for the service.
However, Twitter experienced a slowdown in the growth of its user base globally this year. While Ampen wouldn’t disclose user numbers from the region, he says there has been a healthy and steady increase in users.
“The UAE and Saudi Arabia are leading the pack. The idea of opening the office in Dubai was to service this market, our local partners and brands who use Twitter and everything around the Twitter ecosystem even more,” he says.
“We are going to see a lot of innovation coming through this app. There are a couple of industries that will be our priority, where we aim to work with broadcasters to increase their reach.” Ampen says some of the UAE’s high-profile organisations are set to gain even more exposure through Periscope.
“We know a couple of football teams such as Al Ahli Club that have a massive following on Twitter, and every time they tweet there is a lot of engagement – so they can benefit from using Periscope,” he says. Ampen adds that entertainment shows and TV channels can also increase their reach by using Persicope. “With TV, we want to push broadcasters to give people access to things such as behind-the-scenes coverage, which will be popular,” he says.
“For example, what are The 5, the Middle East’s favourite boy band, up to before they go on stage? Fans would love to know – and Periscope can give them that.”
With the increased exposure that Periscope provides, not to mention live and unedited streaming, there is however a risk that offensive or illegal content could fall through the cracks.
Ampen says Twitter is working with broadcasters to ensure that the content is appropriate and safe.
“Copyright is a very important question to deal with when it comes to broadcasting live,” he says. “The companies we are working with can directly report bad content or copyright issues and we can make sure they are protected.”
Ampen says the app is also proving valuable to the tourism industry. This week, Dubai Tourism invited six influential Periscopers from around the world to take a tour of the emirate and broadcast their experiences to their global followings.
“The authenticity of the medium is what is appealing,” he says. “People are willing to bring others into their world and it is a great way to interact. Imagine someone who hasn’t been to the UAE or Saudi Arabia – they get to see what life is really like here, and all the landmarks.”
Periscope feeds into Twitter’s growth plans, Ampen adds.
“They have the same DNA, they both are live, public and conversational,” he says.
“We have to make sure that Periscope is more integrated with Twitter. Twitter is about connecting the user with the world and what interests them. The way we want to develop that is if live-streaming is the best way for you to express yourself, you should be able to do it ease, or receive the information important to you quickly.”
aahmed@thenational.ae
