Vine – Brand New Twitter App for Video

What is Vine?

I came across a tweet on Thursday where Chris Brogan shared a link to 11 Things a Business Could Do with the New Vine App. Intrigued, I clicked the link and discovered a new free video app now supported by Twitter.

Dom Hofmann, GM and co-founder of Vine describes the app:

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.

Within the app the user has the ability to string together a series of six second videos, creating a brief and imaginative video loop. I’ve yet to discover the secret embed code for these brief videos, so click HERE to watch my Vine video. Since this is a newly released application, I’m certain this function will become available soon.

Creating the video was dead simple.  The app guides the user through your initial video and strings them together once you’ve finished. Note that the video clips do not have to be taken immediately following one another in order to create your story. The user can save the video to the camera roll or share it on Twitter and FaceBook.

Remember, what is shared cannot be retracted. So please think before your share a video.

What am I gonna do in 6 seconds?  I was asked this question from social media guru Jimmie Bise when I shared this video with him on Twitter.

The app immediately reminded me of 12second.tv which closed its doors in 2010.  It was a pioneer of sharing personal short video clips and I believe I used the service once then promptly abandoned it for lack of interest.  How is this app different? It allows a level of creativity by allowing the user to selectively capture video clips to create the story they are after. Each clip may be six seconds long but the user can link together a number of clips to create their video.  The brevity of the clips cuts down on distractions allowing the user can create a dynamic, get-to-the point video. Chris Brogan detailed several ways in which this app would be useful to users.

The simple interface, quick processing and social sharing make this an appealing video app for newbies and intermediate smartphone videographers. With the support and financial subsidizing of Twitter I suspect this app may witness more innovation and a longer shelf life then other video contenders.

Another free mobile video application you may want to explore is Viddy which is available for both Iphone and Droid fans. Users can shoot one fifteen second video clip on their mobile device then add filters, special effects and music to the clip before sharing their creation online.  Users have the ability to embed their videos within blog posts.

See my pretty video below:

Is Vine the video version of Instagram? Only time and user engagement will answer that question.

Viddy is a great alternative to Vine with a few more bells and whistles at its disposal.

Which app would I prefer? I like them both for different reasons and would use them accordingly.