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Periscope's first update tackles boring feeds and notification overload

Periscope's first update tackles boring feeds and notification overload

By James Vincent, a senior reporter who has covered AI, robotics, and more for eight years at The Verge.

Source Periscope (Medium)

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Last week, live-streaming app Periscope burst onto the scene in a flurry of notifications and videos of strangers' fridges. Now, the Twitter-owned app has released its first update aimed at fixing these (and other) problems.

Periscope version 1.0.1 turns off notifications for new followers by default and automatically puts broadcasts from people you know at the top of your Watch tab. The optional location sharing function has been tweaked to be less revealing (the map that shows users' whereabouts is now zoomed further out and less precise) and the app's maker says it's also improved performance on particularly busy streams and added a fix for when streams aren't tweeted. It also promises that an Android version is coming "soon."

notable broadcasts include tours of national parks and a ballet class in Paris

"We launched Periscope a week ago and have been overwhelmed (in the best possible way) by the outpouring of excitement for the product," said the Periscope team in a blog post. "We built Periscope to let people discover the world through someone else’s eyes and in just a matter of days have taken us all around the globe — to nearly every country in the world." The team also highlighted some of the more notable broadcasts, including tours of Glacier National Park, a ballet class at Paris Opera, and a behind-the-scenes look at The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

So far, the winds of hype seem to be in Periscope's favor. Interest in the app has already eclipsed early live-streaming frontrunner Meerkat, and this speedily-implemented update bodes well for Periscope's ability to respond to users' problems. But make no mistake, there will be lots more problems. Notification overload can't be solved by simply turning off messages for new followers, and even if the app can consistently find broadcasts people want to watch, how are users going to deal with all the data costs? Periscope is off to a good start, but there are some things you just can't fix in an update.

Verge Video: Hands-on with Periscope

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