Meerkat has launched a new feature dubbed Cameo, which will let users add their friends as guest stars.
On Wednesday, July 8, the popular live video streaming app introduced Cameo in a bid to make the service more interactive. Thanks to this feature, one can now invite other viewers to take over the reins of their stream for a maximum of 60 seconds.
"It's a simple yet powerful way to create a deeper human connection with people—going from 'broadcasting to' towards 'broadcasting with,'" revealed Meerkat. "This is the strongest manifestation of our long-term vision for participatory live-streaming."
Cameos will be short and sweet in nature as the name of the feature suggests. Through this new functionality, Meerkat wants to give a user's followers the chance to see the same. Once a user accepts the broadcaster's invitation to be a guest star, the user's followers will be alerted of the fact that he or she is taking over the stream as the new guest broadcaster.
How does Cameo work? Here's how:
1. Tap on the profile of a viewer and embolden them to view their stream. Alternatively, the viewer can notify another viewer via a tag and a comment in the following manner: "Cameo@username."
2. The viewer who has been invited will get an invite from Cameo to take over the stream as a guest for a minute at the most and broadcast from their own device. The Facebook and Twitter followers of the guest broadcaster will also be notified of the impending stream.
3. Both the original broadcaster and the guest broadcaster have the option of ending the Cameo whenever they choose. Once the Cameo has ended, the video will return to the original broadcaster of the stream.
The Cameo feature from Meerkat is available for all the platforms. However, Android users will only be able to watch the cameos and not stream them as of now, according to a company spokesman.
Another update to Meerkat is that users will also be able to save their streams in their Meerkat library when a broadcast ends. Users will also be able to connect to their Facebook profiles in place of Twitter.
The new feature additions to Meerkat will enable the service to throw the gauntlet to rival Periscope.
Cameo has reportedly already been put to use by several marketers such as MasterCard, TMZ, Fox, The Weather Channel, CW and Michelle Phan.
