By Morgan O’Leary
The latest app craze seems to be centered on video apps like Cinemagram, Viddy, and Vine. No wonder, with Twitter recently unveiling Vine on Jan. 24. The launch generated buzz about the future of content creation and consumption on social media. In short, Vine allows iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad users create and post short video clips to Twitter and Facebook. Simply point your mobile device, touch the screen and the app records up to six seconds. At this link, you can check out some cool examples that chronicle the city of Hong Kong with a batch of the six-second videos. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo described the app as a “hyper-constrained publishing” platform that will “force people to be creative and foster this new art form.” He also maintains that Twitter is looking for the next big thing and is “not going do what those other guys did,” making references to Facebook’s acquisition of photo app Instagram.
So why should PR pros and marketers pay attention to this new platform? Because there are tons of journalists that use it for posting personal videos – and perhaps more importantly, media outlets using it for reporting purposes. Aly Weisman of Business Insider wrote an article on how media outlets are using Vine to deliver the news. Here are a few examples:
- “The Today Show,” news anchors, and dozens of online and local news stations have already started using the free app.
- “Today” has used its Vine videos to tease upcoming segments, replay a popular on-air segment and even give a brief office tour.
- Turkish journalist Tulin Daloglu recently used Vine to cover the suicide bombing terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Turkey.
- TDaloglu, a columnist for Al-Monitor and a contributor for the New York Times, posted the videos to her @TurkeyPulse Twitter feed where they were later picked up and used as news items.
Brands are already actively using Vine for marketing purposes. One notable example is Oscilloscope Laboratories, which recently released the new David Cross movie “It’s a Disaster” from its Vine account (check out the Fast Co.DESIGN article here). But according to Entrepreneur.com, because the clips are only six seconds long, some marketers still aren’t sold on Vine’s value for brands. AdAge recently wrote a piece on five ways brands can use the app.
It looks like Vine may be creating an Android version soon, according to TechCrunch. If you haven’t already signed up for Vine, what are you waiting for? The app imports your Twitter contacts, which makes for a great way to ensure you’re following all those journalists and news sources you’re already a fan of via Twitter. Below you can find a few more resources, in case there weren’t enough hyperlinks for you in this blog post already. As you can tell, this is quite the hot topic in the news lately and there’s just so much great information available. If you use Vine, what’s your experience been so far? What are your bets for the future of video creation on social media?
ADDITIONAL READS:
Vine’s co-founder and creative director talks about Vine’s design on the Vine Blog
The most creative uses of Vine (so far) according to Fast Company’s Co.CREATE staff (you’ll see there are quite a few brands on here!)
WIRED’s Mat Honan on why the app is “going to be big. Really, really big.”
CNN’s Doug Gross on how Vine may change Twitter
A little bit about me: A Boston- bred, SF resident that loves to explore the ways that mobile technology can help us live our best lives! I’m fascinated by people and the way they interact with their world – and how mobile technology is changing this dynamic.
