Meerkat, a live-streaming phone app, became the latest fascination for many Twitter users on Wednesday, less than a week after its launch. The app, named after the small, carnivorous member of the mongoose family, is built to allow users to live-stream video straight to the web. It relies on Twitter to alert people to Meerkat broadcasts. It was launched on Friday 27 February by Life On Air, a live-stream startup team of just 10 people. Meerkat had originally been conceived as a side project but by Tuesday, Ben Rubin, the company’s CEO, had decided to focus the whole team on Meerkat. Using Meerkat is simple. You download the app. You open the app. You sync it up with Twitter. There is a box saying “Write what’s happening …†After writing what is happening, there is a “stream†button to click on. Your phone’s video screen appears, a tweet is sent out, and you are live-streaming. (Or Meerkating.) As people start to watch, their Twitter profile pictures appear on screen so you can see who is viewing and say hi. If your viewers tweet at you, the message also appears on the screen, allowing you to respond.
