I’m fascinated by Periscope because marketers are falling over themselves to edge out other marketers over who loves the platform more. “It’s the thing that every business needs to do,” I’m told. “It offers another outlet for content,” I’m told.

I admit it. I’m a cynic, but over the past few days, I’ve spent hours on Periscope and I want to share what I’ve learned about the next big thing that all businesses need to do because it’s a wonderful outlet for content.

#1 Sunsets are huge. Probably a third of all broadcasts involve staring at a sunrise, sunset or skyline. I guess that’s a thing.

#2 Eating and being bored are popular. Another theme is staring into the camera while eating or watching television, reading a book or staring into space while the camera records. What do these things have in common? They’re dreadfully boring to watch.

#3 Say hello to everyone. EVERYONE! There must be a rule that broadcasters must announce every person that is watching. It sounds nice to do, but boring to watch.

#4 Sex the sexing of sex-o-rama. If you are a girl in your 20s or younger, you will be asked something sexual. Repeatedly. If you fall into this demographic and are planning on broadcasting, familiarize yourself with the banning features.

#5 Vehicular safety is overrated. An astoundingly high percentage of videos are broadcast by people that are operating a vehicle. Here’s what I propose: Don’t do that. It’s not safe.

At first I thought that my observations were primarily geographic, but then I spent a few days watching broadcasts from other countries and they were fundamentally the same.

My conclusion is that like other social media platforms, Periscope succeeds at feeding into our inherent hubris, but the marketing potential remains undiscovered.

These are my 300 words for the day. I am Ralph M. Rivera.

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