What is this thing called Periscope?

General Hospital actors @EmmeRyan
and @DominicZampogna

Back at the end of April, Twitter purchased an app called Periscope.  It has been initially only available to iPhone users, however, rumor has it the Android version of the app is due to go live any day. 

 

WHAT IS PERISCOPE? Periscope is an interactive social media application.  It is live video stream of people from all walks of life and it is Worldwide.  You interact with the Periscope broadcaster by typing your comments and they answer live through their phone's video camera.  These broadcasters cover a wide range of topics for you to explore.  I am happily sharing with you my early favorites who have now become little rays of sunshine throughout my day (sounds melodramatic? Just wait). 

 

I tune in during my early morning coffee and at the end of my day before I go to bed. I get notifications that tell me someone I follow is now live and may pop-on throughout the day.  If I missed seeing someone and they saved their broadcast than I have 24 hours to watch in replay.  (Warning, there is no forward function on replay which makes viewing more difficult for the longer broadcasts-hoping to see that change in future updates).

I am more of a spectator in the Periscope world but I am beginning to broadcast and although I think I am boring as heck I have received positive feedback.  I will tell you this Broadcasting is not as easy as some make it look.  You try walking, eating, reading, all while talking. My eyes can't even read the screen without holding it 1 inch to my face.

So now I would like to share the reasons why I enjoy Periscope and some of the individuals responsible for my newest addiction.  If you want to follow me you can @heatco let me know that you read my blog!

HOW I DISCOVERED PERISCOPE-

@jennyhutt Target trip

I was driving one day listening to one of my favorite Sirius FM radio personalities, Jenny Hutt (@JennyHutt) who was discussing a new app called Periscope.  She described how it works and how addicting it is.  She also said she was broadcasting throughout her day and interacting with fans and I thought it sounded pretty interesting. Now I am being brought into her home.  We get to see that  those we deemed famous are really just like your average Joe...with perhaps more money?  I so enjoy keeping @jennyhutt company while she waits for her kids in school carpool line, or while she is on her treadmill, or in her backyard with her dog.  She helps me to be a better parent with her advice as she is years away with teenagers while I am with an early school age child.  She makes me laugh while walking through Target waiting for someone to notice her tiara. She makes me think when talking candidly about the Baltimore riots and the events that lead up to the riots.  If you get SIRIUS make sure to look for her and when you join Periscope follow her. I think you will enjoy her broadcasts. And to @jennyhutt I say thank you for introducing me to the what some say is the new future of social media.

HOW DO I LOVE THEE SO? Let me tell you why....
There is more to Periscope that just seeing your favorite celebrity "behind the scenes" so let me tell you the MANY reasons why I no longer sleep at night.

THE SIGHTS and SOUNDS-

This was my first attraction to Periscope...to experience things I would not normally experience and to visit places I dream to see in person one day was a very exciting concept.  The Sights & Sounds of my first morning on Perisope, while I sipped my coffee were of The Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, Eifel Tower, Tel-Aviv-Israel, United Kingdom and a place near to my heart...New York City.   I was fascinated the many sights from all around the World and found myself enjoying my morning coffee in a very different way than before.



THE TALENTED PEOPLE- 

The second reason I find myself drawn to Periscope is the wonderfully talented people I have come across who truly enjoy sharing their talents and/or crafts. I have been amused, entertained, and inspired by them and I hope you will be too.  There are many other broadcasters who deserve mentioning so perhaps I can create another blog in the near future of other great broadcasters.
 

Artist @AmandaOleander

My first Periscope find was @AmandaOleander who is an artist in Los Angeles, CA. Amanda paints, illustrates, cooks, and takes her viewers to various spots in Los Angeles (and neighboring areas) all while making her viewers feel appreciated and inspired. On any given night you may find Amanda painting and listening to great music all the while interacting with her supportive community of viewers.  Amanda currently has her Grandma Bita visiting till July so lucky viewers are getting a rare treat with this spunky and endearing Grandma. She is creative, talented and charitable.  She uses Periscope in the best way possible which is why she is one of the most beloved broadcasters. 

 Musician @Kitten_Grenade

I recently discovered a quirky & adorable musician named Kate (@Kitten_Grenade), who plays Ukulele and has the voice of an angel that lulls me to sleep nearly nightly. She will make songs based on your comments and does improv jamming like no other. She has the kindest soul and is refreshing to watch. She just got married this past weekend and we miss her while she is on her honeymoon--Congrats to Kate!





Actor @ErikPalladino

Than there is the Hollywood actor we first fell in love with on a little television show called ER, Erik Palladino (@ErikPalladino).  Watching Erik we find ourselves often giggling--along with the jokester himself-- while he torments his wife with surprise scope broadcasts or simply amuses us with his crazy antics.  He has two beautiful boys and watching him and his family is hysterical and also quite beautiful.  He welcomes us into his home as friends, and makes you feel just like one of the family. 



 

@MoeInteractive in NYC

My next "scoper" is Moe Saleh (@MoeInteractive) who broadcasts out of my native home of New York and shows us the most beautiful sites of the city (and nearby boroughs as well). I grew up in New York and now live down south so I especially love seeing my city through Moe's eyes when I am so far away.  I have had so much fun with Moe in Times Square while he asks viewer questions to random people on the street.  We have seen some crazy antics in Times Square and memorable walks in Central Park.  We have gone on late night subway trips to Brooklyn and have seen Art and Architecture along the streets of Manhattan. You can find Moe walking around the city at all hours day and night. 




Photographer @Smaku

Another recent discovery was a Periscope 'friend' who I had met in another broadcast is Taku (@Smaku) who is based out of Toronto, Canada. Taku is a talented photographer who explores beautiful sites in Canada through his photographers eye. He teaches viewers great camera angles and different ways of taking beautiful photographs. He also shows us how he edits pictures digitally on his computer.  Be ready to take tons of screen captures of Taku's walks. I find my screen captures of Taku's views often come out the best thanks to his talented vision.

@euromaestro in Paris

If you love Paris than you will equally love the tours given by someone known by many as @EuroMaestro. Euro narrates history and interesting facts along the journey into the beautiful country of France.  Here is another case where you will want to be prepared to take lots of screen captures thru the Maestro's eyes of his beautiful country.  






@LisaAppleton67 in the UK

If England captures your fancy than you should make a point to stop in on Lisa Appleton (@lisaappleton76) who broadcasts daily in her home and around her beautiful country.  I have found myself sitting in a room by myself laughing out loud into my cup of coffee.  She is both so real and really funny.  Whether its cooking or creating blown eggs that resemble her community of followers you are sure to have a fun time while visiting with Lisa.  When she is not scoping you will find her interacting in other broadcasts as well.

TV Host @AlexButlertv

 Another fun 'Scoper' is Alex Butler (@AlexButlerTV) who hosts a television show "My Carolina Today" in North Carolina.  She is bubbily, funny and very talkative. She is a natural talent in front of a camera. Her kindness oozes out of every broadcast and she is the real deal. She periscopes daily and enjoys interacting with others.  She happily takes you along on her journey through art fairs or her studio. Her home footage with her boyfriend, Nate, is very funny as they make a sweet couple who like to enjoy life.



YES and even more CELEBRITIES....
The third reason I love Periscope is the true fan in

me....the Celebrities!  I love to be behind the scenes of my favorite soap opera @GeneralHospital or at the Red Carpet with actress @EmmeRylan or on a run at backlot of Universal Studios with childhood favorite Punky Brewster's, Soleil Moon Frye (@moonfrye).  Remember the TLC sensation, Trading Spaces, fun host Paige Davis (@realpaigedavis)? Well now we get to watch her enjoying her dream of being on Broadway.  Watch NYC through her eyes...its a treat.  Periscope is in its infancy and celebrities are joining literally everyday. You can see Ellen, Oprah, Bravo's Andy Cohen, MC Hammer, Kathy Griffin, Tom Green & Andy Dick in ways you have not seen them before.

 
My FINAL REASON...Community
My final reason I love Periscope is the people I have met. The best indicator of a genuine, positive broadcaster is their following.  Many scopers are very good at developing their own community in their broadcast world.  You interact daily with the broadcaster and you also interact with other viewers.  Each broadcaster has a different type of community. You get to know the 'regular' personalities that frequent their favorite broadcasts.  One night I found myself watching @AmandaOleander illustrate what became #worldhug to raise money for Nepal.  I watched an entire 6-hours talking with others viewers while she busily illustrated for us from beginning to end.  I have found another group with @MoeInterative who take that walk nearly daily with me on the streets of NYC.  There is a nutty group of eggheads over at @LisaAppleton67 that I cry laughing with while visiting in Lisa's kitchen. You know to expect a very humorous crew hanging with @ErikPalladino.

I hope I have enticed you to come on board and join in on the fun that Periscope.  Download the app now if you have IPhone and hang in there to Androids.  

Looking forward to see you on Periscope!
Heather
Twitter & Periscope: @heatco

Honey....I'm Home!

I cannot believe the last time I wrote a blog entry was something like 4-years ago. I had a 4 year old...and just post toddler little girl. Now I have an 8-year old who is in 2nd Grade brings joy to my life daily when she is not making me question my ability as a Mother.  Do you all do that too? Judge
yourself? I do daily....I wake up saying today I am going to be a perfect mom and go to bed wondering how many things I could have done better. We are our worst enemies.  Aren't our children going to grow up with "issue" no matter what we do? Don't we all have issues!?

Obviously there is a difference between a bad/horrible parent and the rest of us who try with all our might and just hope for the best.

So far, so good.  My daughter is a decent human being.  She has flourished from the shy girl to a often opinionated child. She has learned to read, do math, tell time, count money.  She has had her first childhood "crush" in Kindergarten and who has returned to our lives in 2nd Grade. She is innocent and I have tried my best to both keep her in a bubble yet expose her to as much of the world as possible. 

Well, that's a complex challenge. On one had I revert to the bubble and carefully monitor her tv and movie viewing . I was such a stickler about this as I wanted to keep her innocence as long as possible and some really great television shows are meant for tweens not for the young ones.  I kept her away from learning about sad things as long as I could, perhaps to her determent.  My shy child who was always described as a thinker has grown into a an even bigger thinker and sometimes gets herself stressed out.  This past year or two she discovered that people die who are younger. I know perhaps a smarter child would have figured this out sooner when they realized that none of the Disney Princesses have Mothers. But her initial experience with death was my Grandmother...her "Bubbie".  She was in her 90's and we were able to flourish  the reality of it with our first talk about Heaven and what we thought it might be like. So now she worries a bit about something happening to us or her. Normal childhood milestone I think. Lesson learned that no matter how much you shelter your child, her classmate, 'Jimmy' will tell her about his baby cousin who died.  Its most definitely best to teach things first yourself. Its always tricky figuring out when to start the lessons.

There is more to our story.  My husband (before we married) was hit by a drunk driver in 1995.  He was in a coma for 10 days and suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  It effected him differently over the years.  He suffers memory issues and seizures.  Not easy for a little one to experience her daddy having a seizure in front of her.  I am sure that lack of control of her environment weighs on her during her most anxious moments. But the good things is she is a happy child who enjoys so many things...basketball, art, reading, drawing and playing Mommy to her many dolls. She is very creative and has a lot of moxie.  She is kind and inquisitive and I could go on because I am very enamored by my child as we all should be.

Ok so one more thing you need to know about me.  I run my own business and care for my child and assist my husband who can't drive and on top of it I am dealing with thyroid issues. Having been overweight most of my life I finally grew comfortable in my own skin (or so I say) but than I gained more weight and started just feeling horrible.  It was a slow spiral down until my diagnosis and I am just recently starting treatment.  So on top of being exhausted by life, I am also exhausted from the inside out, my body hurts, my moods are a bit all over the place, I am most probably perimenapausal and I am anemic. Oh did I mention borderline diabetic.

Its time for some drastic change and I thought this blog could hold me accountable, let me write, which I love to do and let me interact with others and hopefully bring you along on a positive journey back to a healthier me. Please, don't mistake my rant as complaining. There is so much I love about my life, I just need to feel healthier so I can get more out of it. Make sense?

Boy, if you are still reading thanks for reading through this major rant!  I think I need a place to let it all out. 

I leave you with you a quote from one of our favorite movies, Cheaper by the Dozen 2,
"There is no one way to be a perfect parent, but there are many ways to be a great one.".  Lets strive for greatness but continue to love ourselves during the moments we fail.

Thanks for hanging in on this way-to-long blog!
MamaRorose
XOXO