In their ever expanding movement to increase user engagement with the service, Twitter is currently testing a new feature within their Android app that will be rolled out to all users sometime in the future. The new feature is a dedicated button for users to instantly go live on Periscope. This is following the recent details about Twitter no longer counting photos and links in tweets as part of the 140 character limit. While Twitter appears to have confirmed that all users will eventually be able to see the integrated Periscope button in the Android app, for now, things are starting today with a small test batch of users.
Although Twitter-owned Periscope has been available for Android users for a while, this would be the first time that Twitter has begun to make it more seamless to use by attempting to open up the capability for live broadcasts from within its main app. Although users will still need Periscope installed to use the functionality, the “Live” button puts Twitter more in line with Facebook that has started to roll out its own live broadcasting option with the Live Tab that has started to show up for users. This, in particular, makes things just a little bit interesting as Twitter had recently been discovered to have rebranded itself in the iOS app store as a news app instead of a social app, as a way for them to distance themselves from comparisons to Facebook.
If you’re curious to see whether or not you have the live button accessible, you can open up the Twitter app and hit the compose button. Here is where the live button should appear, next to the camera, video, and gallery buttons for selecting the media you want to insert into your tweet. For those that already have Periscope installed, the broadcast should start right up while those that don’t have Periscope installed would be directed to the Play Store to download the app first before beginning the broadcast. With in-app Periscope access on the way for all Twitter users, both Twitter and Periscope engagement could increase although Twitter has not mentioned a time frame for when all users can expect to see the new live button available.