On January 24, 2013, Twitter introduced Vine, an app that allows you to share six second looping videos on the service and in embedded tweets. The app is simple, allowing you to tap the screen to record video and lift your finger to stop.
Chaining those clips together allows you to create short sound-optional movies that can be shared on Twitter. They play back directly inside tweets on Twitter an in the newly expanded embeds that the service offers, as seen below.
Vine co-founder Dom Hofmann says.
“Posts on Vine are about abbreviation — the shortened form of something larger. They’re little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life. They’re quirky, and we think that’s part of what makes them so special."
A Vine blog post confirmed that it was acquired by Twitter. Twitter purchased Vine, then a three-person startup, in October 2012. At the time, AllThingsD suggested buying price could have topped $30 million, but some estimated the price was $20 million. Vine’s founding triptych became Twitter employees. It was used by Hofmann to tweet out a 6 second clip yesterday morning. That clip was then shared by Twitter CEO Dick Costolo.
Click Image To View The 6-Second Video Clip
If clicking the above image does not play the video clip, please click HERE.
Vine is currently available for only iOS platform devices, but will be coming to Android later this year. Currently, you are not required to have a Twitter account to use Vine, and can sign up via email. Notably, the app also still allows you to share these short videos via Facebook.
While it isn’t a direct expansion of the service to include video, Vine nonetheless represents Twitter’s interest in capturing and presenting media that can be displayed via its Cards feature. By heading off services like Instagram at the pass, Twitter is making a play for its media-heavy future. Bringing the sharing of these things back into the Twitter app fold ensures that they continue to be the place that people will visit to see the things that their friends are sharing.
You can download Vine here now in the app store.
Will Vine for Twitter Make Brands Rethink Video Creation?
If Twitter's launch of the 6-second video app Vine is any indication, mobile video content seems to be moving in the direction of short and social. The app reached No. 1 among free apps in the Apple social app store the day after its release.
Still, Vine is new to the market, and awareness remains low overall, according to an AYTM Market Research survey of US internet users conducted a few days after the app’s launch. Just under 2% of US internet users surveyed by AYTM Market Research said they had signed up for a Vine account.
Another 3.5%, although not Vine users, said they had viewed Vine videos online, and 8% said they’d heard of the app. The overwhelming majority, 86.5%, said they were unaware of Vine.
Click Image To Enlarge
Although Vine has not launched an advertiser solution, industry pundits speculate the service may release a promoted video product, along the lines of Twitter’s Promoted Trends.
Given the tight link with Twitter, Vine could help the social network become a top video-sharing site and have interesting mobile-social implications for video advertisers. Since nearly all mobile video viewers are mobile video sharers, Vine may be a good opportunity for brands looking to link up their paid, owned and earned strategies.
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According to the IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, 92% of mobile video viewers had shared mobile phone videos with their friends and social networks, with tweeting accounting for 12% of shares. That figure could rise if Vine turns video into a more prominent part of the Twitter service.
Still marketers may not be ready to jump fully on board just yet. Vine has encountered some problems with adult content, which may make some brands leery to associate with the platform. While Vine works out those kinks—including adding a higher age rating to the app—it’s a good chance for marketers to evaluate their mobile video strategies, and to look at the newer video options on the market.
It will also be interesting to see how advertisers approach Vine’s length limitation (6 seconds)—whether they use it to tease longer-form content, or they embrace the quick, snackable length.
The IAB also found that videos between 3 to 5 minutes long were the sweet spot for consumers. Half of mobile video viewers viewed content of that length, and 20% viewed video content on their phones that was less than 2 minutes in length.
Click Image To Enlarge
Still marketers may not be ready to jump fully on board just yet. Vine has encountered some problems with adult content, which may make some brands leery to associate with the platform. While Vine works out those kinks—including adding a higher age rating to the app—it’s a good chance for marketers to evaluate their mobile video strategies, and to look at the newer video options on the market.
COMMENTARY: After only two months out of the gate, Twitter’s short-form video-sharing app Vine is picking up users like they’re going out of style.
According to figures from Onavo Insights, which tracks usage of apps across iOS devices in the U.S., since going live in January, Vine has grown its monthly active users by 50% in the last month, and it was used on 2.66% of all iOS devices in the U.S. by the end of February.
It doesn’t look like Vine’s rising tide is lifting all boats. Three other video-sharing apps on iOS — Cinemagram, SocialCam and Viddy — have at the same time declined, with their monthly active users in general down since December. February saw U.S. device usage of 1.07% for Cinemagram, 0.50% for SocialCam and 0.31% for Viddy.
These numbers are somewhat comparable with those of another analytics company, RJ Metrics, which measured Vine use compared to Viddy and Socialcam on Twitter itself. It found that in its first month, Vine was used by 2.8% of Twitter’s highly active users with Viddy used by 0.5% and Socialcam by 0.2%.
I have no idea how many iOS device owners are using the Vine app, but if I were Twitter, I would integrate with their native Twitter app. This would allow all Twitter users to access the app automatically when they upgrade their Twitter app.
Courtesy of an article dated January 24, 2013 appearing in The Next Web and an article dated February 8, 2013 appearing in eMarketer and an article dated March 13, 2013 appearing in TechCrunch
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