With shares trading around an all-time low, Twitter will finally be integrating the live streaming video service Periscope, which it bought last March.
Previously, Periscope users could tweet links to their Twitter followers, but now, live streaming video will be integrated into users' Twitter feed. So anyone who follows a Periscope broadcaster would automatically see live streaming video within their feed, which should help broadcasters easily access Twitter's 300-million-plus audience.
This is a dramatic boost from the 20-million-plus user accounts Periscope CEO Kayvon Beykpour said the company had as of the end of December, double the number of registered users in August.
Perisope also said Tuesday over 100 million broadcast links have been shared since the app's launch in March — an indication of the amount of live streaming events that could flow into Twitter users news stream.
But this is not a full integration of Periscope and Twitter. In order to interact with the Periscope feeds by tapping the heart icon and writing comments — Twitter users will have to download the Periscope app. And this integration of the two apps starts Tuesday with iOS, with plans to roll out gradually to Twitter's Android app and Web platform.
"This will result in a richer timeline when you can see autoplay video. … People will be able to watch events live," said Periscope engineer Aaron Wasserman. "Twitter lends itself to breaking news and virality."
But the question is: Will this be enough to expand Twitter's stagnating user base? A SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst has cited growth of Periscope, as well as Vine, as a potential catalyst for the stock, but the new move could also risk adding clutter to the newsfeed.
Twitter's move to integrate comes after Facebook launched a live streaming feature, totally integrated into its platform. Facebook first introduced a "Live" feature in its Mentions app, but only available to celebrities with a verified page. In December, Facebook rolled out live streaming to verified Pages, allowing a range of page owners to tap a "publish" button to share live video. And unlike Periscope, live videos will default to remain on brands' Pages indefinitely, as an archive, unless users decide to delete them.