Twitter unveiled its video sharing platform Vine could be the next big thing in social media seeing how well the app has been received especially in the US. Although Vine is not the first platform to try out the model of sharing user generated videos, the app has distinguished itself by the simplicity of using it and the time limit of the videos.
All the videos can only be six seconds or less, which is not enough to shoot a 100 metre Olympic race. But this limitation emulates Twitter’s own 140-character limit on tweets, a model Michael Sippey, Vice President of Product at Twitter, says will simply inspire creativity.
“Now that you can easily capture motion and sound, we look forward to seeing what you create,” said Sippey on a blog post.
Another unique feature about Vine is that the videos loop after the end and this can go on endlessly. The free app is currently only available on the App Store but Twitter has promised to make it available on other platforms.
Users can share their videos on Twitter even if they don’t have a twitter account. To download and sign-up for an account, you can use your Twitter or email account. Facebook disabled the common login function 24 hours after the app was launched last week but you can still share on your Facebook profile.
After quickly rising to become the 4th top social app to be downloaded on the store, Apple placed the app on its featured category but pulled it out after porn videos appeared on Vine. Posting of explicit content is an issue the app is contending with along with other content sharing apps. Apple’s strict rule on explicit content has seen some apps discontinued on the store for allowing porn on their platform. Twitter has responded by blocking certain search terms associated with porn.
However, though the video sharing model could be big in other markets, it may take some time before we fully embrace apps like Vine which depend on reliable and affordable band width.
mixing gnarly basslines today vine.co/v/b55LOA1dgJU
— The Glitch Mob (@theglitchmob) January 23, 2013