Data allowances, Costs and the ubiquity of Wifi has reduced that barrier now, but even so, before the more recent set of launches, such as Meerkat and then Periscope, the use of such apps were not that mainstream - it was still not critical mass.
That said, Periscope is winning the war now because it is strongly connected to a service with a huge existing user base. By making connection and push to Twitter easy, Periscope could raise awareness and recognition rapidly.
So the “disruption” is not the app itself but what you have is the coming together of (1) a set of behaviours that are saying share more; (2) an existing user base that is easy to market to and are used to sharing other formats across Twitter (including videos) and (3) almost ubiquitous use of smart phones and improved carrier bandwidth/speed and Wifi availability. This is combined with an increasing level of restricted access to the sport of Formula1, meaning people are looking for affordable ways of being able to watch it, and these tools help do that”.
Moderator: So while currently in its infancy, enabling factors such better Wifi connectivity, improved video quality etc and potential rapid growth in users due to the link with an existing widely used platform i.e. Twitter, Periscope and other tools of same ilk could certainly become something for right-holders to take note of in a few years.
Nelson Piquet Jr won the inaugural FIA FormulaE championship - most people agree he deserved to win, but is Singapore GP 2008 all forgotten?
NM: The basis is that what happened is not forgotten but I think there is a vast difference between being diva-ish and being smart. He has been in this (motorsport) world for a long time for many different levels and the perception that you give off after fighting for so long can be seen in the wrong light to some people so I think there's a difference between being a diva and not being deceived by everyone. So this is very tough sport to be in and I didn’t really grow up watching Formula 1 but I've got more into it recently.
Speaking for the American fanbase, I don’t think they see Nelson Piquet Jr as a Formula 1 driver. I think there are a lot of people who don't even know what happened in 2008, to be completely honest. They see him as one of the most versatile drivers out there; he drove an IndyLights car not that long ago, he tested in IndyCar, he won a Global Rally Cross race, he won the FormulaE Championship etc.
There's plenty of times in FormulaE championship where he was able to take a turn faster than someone else and people say it might be the Rally Cross experience that he has. They are not saying it is due to his Formula 1 experience so I think he has done a great job for himself. Anyone who thinks otherwise can look at this championship he just won and how successful he is in other categories he has taken to lately.
BS: In 2011 I was chatting to a member of F1 media and they admit that knowing what they know now of that situation, maybe him putting on the bravado and blustery “you can’t touch me” persona was his natural defence in an industry like motorsport. I definitely think things have moved on – the advent of Twitter has given him a voice he didn’t have before. 2008 was before Twitter and he didn’t have a way of being himself to the public, now he has a way of being himself and having a voice. I think he’s brilliant on social media. He has built up an awareness with people, who either don’t remember 2008 or who have remained loyal to him throughout the debacle.
RZ: I wouldn’t have called myself a F1 fan in 2008-2009; at that time I was all the way into NASCAR but I was aware of what happened in F1. I think he doesn’t have any reason to make it up to people that don’t like him, he doesn’t need them. As others have said, there is a new generation of people engaging with him and those who were fans then, a lot has happened since 2008. I think he has redeemed himself; he has proven that he is a capable driver as if he needed to. He won a tightly contested championship so to me, that’s enough. I am willing to forget what happened in the past.
DR: If you observe Nelson Piquet without the background of 2008 incident, you just treat him as another race driver. But the problem is you have “that incident” as the basis and then you hear of other things that don’t help his case. I read that in 2013 he was fined by NASCAR because he made homophobic remarks on social media and then there was the rivalry with Lucas di Grassi to the point that they weren’t talking to each other so it all adds up.
On a personal level, I was really irritated by what he did because Alonso won the race and that had an impact on the result because Massa had been leading till that point and it would have made the different in the overall championship (which Lewis Hamilton won by 1 point in the final race).
DC: I think the original inspiration for the question is what we are seeing right now with Lewis Hamilton - he is showing personality. People still criticise him for having fun or wearing gold chains etc. For me, if you are racer, as long as you are delivering results then what’s the issue? And if it’s not causing you to lose sponsors – or if you lose some, and gain new ones who want to pay more, then I don’t see what the problem is. It is like on Yelp; people are more likely to say what they don’t like than to praise what they do like. With regards to Piquet Jr, I think enough time has passed so most people have forgotten about it.
He is certainly popular with sponsors!