Student Affairs and Technology

News, tips, and practical insights about technology for student affairs practitioners by Eric Stoller.

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Pass the Cast Using Periscope

Crowdsourced live-streaming campus video

November 11, 2015

Pass the higher education live broadcast with Periscope at your college or university

When I first met Kayvon Beykpour and Aaron Wasserman, they were both working for Blackboard. They were working for Blackboard because TerriblyClever, the company that Beykpour started alongside Wasserman, had been acquired by Blackboard for its mobile app development talents. Most of the mobile innovation that has ever come from Blackboard is a direct result of that acquisition.

Beykpour, Wasserman, and a plucky team of developers had set up shop in a hip office in San Francisco and were cranking out some high quality work for Blackboard. However, due to an array of reasons, Beykpour and Wasserman would depart Blackboard in 2013 for greener pastures.

And, this is where things get really interesting.

When Periscope came on the social media scene a mere 7 months ago, they made quite a splash. Acquired by Twitter before their official launch, Periscope (a direct competitor with Meerkat) is all about live-streaming mobile video with a social media twist.

You've shown us a lot in 9 weeks. This video is a small glimpse of what we've seen through your eyes. Thank you!https://t.co/5WCQyIRwMj
— Periscope (@periscopeco) June 5, 2015

So what's the connection between Periscope, Beykpour, and Wasserman? Well, it turns out that Beykpour is co-founder and Wasserman is the "first engineer" at Periscope. These guys have some major connections with higher education, innovation, and mobile apps.

In terms of universities and colleges using Periscope, there have already been several early adopters of the app in higher education:

Periscope campus tour - starts at 4pm today! pic.twitter.com/nw2B4AcMSQ
— Uni of Manchester (@OfficialUoM) September 23, 2015

We'll be live on Periscope for @TerrierHockey's press conference on the eve of the #FrozenFour at 2:45 from @tdgarden
— Boston University (@BU_Tweets) April 8, 2015

LIVE on #Periscope: Live #nclvisit campus tour https://t.co/Lfh2Jt4RlL
— Newcastle University (@StudentsNCL) September 19, 2015

LIVE on #Periscope: University of Warwick - a sneak peek at our graduation ceremony https://t.co/LBVOowlZvr
— Warwick University (@warwickuni) July 15, 2015

LIVE on #Periscope: Halftime with the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band! https://t.co/f0zWuvOIAY
— Texas A&M University (@TAMU) November 8, 2015

LIVE on #Periscope: #KrebsFest Exhibition Preview https://t.co/ZbvARlDy5p
— Sheffield University (@sheffielduni) November 6, 2015

There are so many different ways that institutions can use Periscope for brand building, tours, news, lectures, athletics, engagement, events, and content.

When I read a recent post on Periscope's blog about how "more than 50 broadcasters organized a Scope Day that took audiences around the globe," I started wondering about the possibility of a "Scope Day" at a single institution.

The idea being that a group of Periscope users on campus would "pass the cast" from one broadcaster to another. In doing so, they would create an immersive experience for prospective students / external audiences that would feature multiple views, sites, and styles. It would be a community-generated, multi-cast day of "scoping."

Things to consider when creating a Scope Day at your campus:

Schedule a team of designated Periscope broadcasters.
Create a social media promo campaign for the event so that people are ready for the actual Scope Day.
Create a web directory with embedded profiles for all of the Periscope broadcast team.
Make sure that all of the broadcasters save their video after they end their broadcast. This will be useful for content repurposing.
Showcase the day on web-ready LCD screens on campus. Plus, if you have the new Apple TV, you can interact with the Periscope broadcast.
Share the web profiles of the Periscope team after the Scope Day has concluded so that anyone who missed the day can go back and watch the archived broadcasts (these will be available for 24 hours).

If you're new to Periscope, check out their help page for a great set of pointers for using the app.

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Eric Stoller

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