Originally created by Life on Air, Meerkat was a video-streaming app launched in early 2015 that allowed thousands of happy iPhone users to quickly and easily watch live broadcasts on their smartphones. Initially acclaimed with a lot of enthusiasm by global consumers, the app enjoyed its popularity for no more than just a brief moment.
For those who do not know the history of Meerkat, the app was never able to properly take off. Shortly after it was launched at SXSW 2015, it quickly started losing ground against the aggressive competition of Periscope, an alternative service offered by the gigantic rival Twitter. The social network outright killed all hopes for Meerkat to grow when it blocked the access to its social graph. Not only were users not able to link their Twitter followers anymore, but the unlucky Life on Air’s app got caught amidst a battle between the major players in the market as Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram launched their own features. As soon as Facebook’s Live made its first appearance, it was pretty clear that Meerkat’s days were numbered regardless of the fact that it beat Periscope to Android a few weeks earlier.
Life On Air CEO Ben Rubin announced the official “funeral” via Twitter on September 30, 2016. The app’s Twitter account has been closed, and its original website is now a redirect towards the new app Houseparty, where Rubin lately funneled all his funds. The new social app seems to be significantly more modern than its predecessor: it works on both iOS and Android, lets up to eight participants to join or multiple video chat rooms that can be easily switched over. Although Houseparty already reached the one million users quota, it’s still to early to say whether it is going to be a successful one, or just another 15-mins celebrity like Meerkat was.
