Periscope’s been busy rolling out plenty of features and improvements since launching the free live-streaming app back in March. The latest addition to the service is currently a desktop-only experience and lets users jump quickly through a multitude of Periscope streams from around the world. It’s all pretty much random and you never know quite what you’re going to get.
Called Couchmode, the new site includes an arrow top right so you can quickly flip to the next feed if the one you’re watching fails to stimulate. Hitting the “right” arrow on your keyboard has the same effect. As each stream connects, you’re shown the title of the broadcast, the broadcaster’s user name, and where they’re located.
At the moment Couchmode is purely a viewing experience, in other words, you can’t interact by adding comments or hearts. And if you find either of these a distraction as they crawl endlessly up the screen, hit “h” on your keyboard to make them disappear. Hit it again to bring them back.
The San Francisco-based Periscope team announced Couchmode on Monday via one of its own regular live streams, and added that it’s still playing with different algorithms to help surface content that won’t have you dozing off. For the viewer, it’ll feel like a random ride through a myriad of content, from the compelling to the mundane. Just hope you get less of the latter.
You don’t need to sign up or sign in to use Couchmode, suggesting Periscope sees the feature in part as a way to attract more users to its iOS and Android app, links for which appear on Couchmode‘s page.
Twitter-owned Periscope is one of many apps battling for recognition in the live-streaming app market just now. Its main rival, Meerkat, has also been upping its game in recent months, rolling out a number of new features in a bid to keep up with the competition.
If you’ve heard about Periscope but up to now have held back from grabbing the app, Couchmode is a quick and easy way to get a better idea of what it’s all about.
