You may have encountered the hype around Meerkat over the past couple of weeks. The app really started to spread at SXSW a couple of weeks ago. By Ad Week Europe in London this week, it felt like a top term for anyone playing buzzword bingo, beat only by programmatic. In case there was any doubt, Meerkat truly earned its wings as a potential next big thing this week as Twitter launched its own competitor, Periscope.

Expect everyone to have an opinion on Meerkat and Periscope in the coming weeks. So, whether youre already sick of hearing these two names, or are still wondering why a small furry animal is at war with a submarine, heres our blaggers guide.

What are they?
Both Periscope and Meerkat are iOS apps – no Android version yet – which enable users to record video or audio and stream it directly online. Viewers can tune in on the web or using the app via links shared on Twitter, watch or listen along and comment on the stream live. As the other famous meerkat would say: simples.

What are the differences between the two?
At this point, not much. The biggest difference is probably Twitters involvement. The company behind Periscope was acquired by the social giant in January for a reported $75m (£50m).

Apart from a bigger budget, this means direct access to the social network – something which Meerkat cant claim after its access to Twitters social graph API was revoked. This meant it could no longer automatically add the same friends that a user is following on Twitter. However, taking to the stage at SXSW, founder Ben Rubin denied that this was a major obstacle. “It’s just a little bit harder for us to build a community around new uses,” he said. “We’ve already put some solutions in place.” Hakuna matata, as the other other famous meerkat would say.

Periscope also allows users to save their streams after playing as a replay, which can be posted on the service with user comments and likes intact, and will stay up for 24 hours.

Is this new technology?
Live-streaming video services like Ustream have been around for years on desktop, but the most obvious popular comparison is Twitch, which applies the same concept to video games, and has attracted 55m unique monthly users. Outside of the gaming community, its probably best known as the company Amazon paid $970m to acquire last August.

Twitch has been used for everything from sports-style tournaments to two goldfish playing each other at Street Fighter – but the problem is that, unlike video games, real life doesnt often come in neat packages that are as enjoyable to watch as participate in.

Will normal people actually ever use these apps?
Its true a lot of the buzz so far has been generated by the kind of people with a vested interest in declaring the next big thing before anyone else: tech journalists, marketers seeing a new potential channel for reaching consumers, and assorted nerds.

There are a few killer use cases for Meerkat and Periscope, perhaps the biggest of which is acting as way for people to share footage of major breaking news events, such as terrorist attacks or riots. Giving a voice to the people on the ground is one of the factors that has helped propel Twitter to such a prominent place in culture, but its hardly the main use of the platform.

The other opportunity seems to be for streaming live events, like sports matches or concerts – but, given the protective nature of rights holders, the future doesnt look too bright for this use case.

For now, then, the most common use of Meerkat and Periscope is likely to be fairly mundane – footage of peoples pets and food. Theres hardly a shortage of places to see these online, which could mean people fail to see the appeal. Then again, the same criticisms were levelled at Instagram, Facebook and Twitter in their earlier days, and it hasnt held them back from developing into vital social tools.

Whats the opportunity for marketers?
Presuming that Meerkat or Periscope do take off, and become the biggest thing since #nofilter pictures of sliced bread, theres no doubt that marketers will want to get on board. However, the two actually seem less well-suited to marketing applications than the likes of Facebook and Instagram.

The real-time nature of the content being shared is a double-edged sword. It will force brands to own the moment considerably more than posting to a popular hashtag. This is great for keeping the content fresh, but the also ephemeral.

Brands either need to constantly broadcasting or making sure their viewers are ready to watch at exactly the right moment. With the extra investment required from video, this may mean a lot of wasted effort.

Periscopes ability to replay videos for 24 hours may help in this regard, but at this stage neither app really seems like a natural fit for social marketing. Of course, thats where the industrys creative side comes in. Once a brand finds the right approach, it will seem obvious to us all.

So, in six months time perhaps Ill be eating my words. If so, I promise to live-stream it as I do.