It’s up Periscope for Twitter

Twitter is storming ahead in its drive to stream live video with the confirmation that it has bought Periscope.

Periscope, which will allow the streaming of live video from phones, is still in beta phase and is very similar to Meerkat - which Twitter had been rumoured to be interested in.

Meerkat’s live video app is already available but Twitter has now put limitations on its users to stop them automatically turning their Twitters followers into Meerkat followers.

However Meerkat has hit back with new features making it easier for users to find others and also allowing live streams to be watched again after they are no longer live which means content creators will be able to reach more viewers.

Meerkat apparently signed up 120,000 users signed up in two weeks and is currently ahead of the game.

Meerkat and, Periscope when it is launched, have great potential for marketers and the travel industry. Live destination guides, weather updates, events, interviews - will all inform and inspire holiday choices. Marketers working in social media will have a new string to their bow and have to prove themselves ever more inventive.

Periscope describes itself on its Twitter feed as a way to “explore the world in real time through someone else’s eyes.”

Meanwhile Meerkat’s strap says: “Anything that happens on Meerkat also happens on Twitter”

Is there really room for both these apps? And that’s not even mentioning Twitter-owned Vine which is deemed more for entertainment than news.

Expect a live video battle coming soon.