On 29 September, Twitter’s live streaming video app, Periscope, started offering a new way for its users to discover live video on its desktop site.
“Through curated channels, we highlight interesting topics, ideas, and events that spur multiple perspectives from our community,” reads a post on Periscope’s Medium blog. “Channels are categorised according to the conversation that surrounds them, ranging from breaking or developing events to ongoing, enduring topics.”

One of Periscope’s designers, introduced only as Veronica, discussed the update in a Periscope broadcast; “We’ve been working on this for a while. It’s a major update that comes to web today. We’re … showcasing some of our best, editorialised channels as well as our hashtag channels.”

“In the header, there’s this channel icon and you can click on it to get a great overview of all the cool stuff we’re doing on Periscope, coming from our editors. These are things like Superbowl or Master Casters, which is our channel where we’re curating the best Periscopers.”

Another Periscope employee, Will, a web engineer, explained during the broadcast that clicking on one of the videos displayed in a channel opens it up in its own page. Included in this view is a vertical sidebar on the left-hand side of the page showing the other videos within the channel. “It makes it really easy to watch and browse at the same time,” he noted. 

The company’s Medium post added, “We realise that channels may not always represent the full spectrum of live content on a specific topic, but we hope that you’ll find diverse perspectives by exploring the content in each channel. Through this, you may even be inspired to follow new broadcasters and topics, further broadening your experience on the platform”.

For more information, read the full Medium post here.