Will Vine Prove A Game Changer For Video Creators?

Those of you who have spent any time at all on Twitter in the last couple of days can't have failed to have noticed at least some mention of Vine, the new video-tweeting app. And by video, we mean a maximum of 6 seconds of moving images, looped continuously in an animated GIF-like fashion. Why only 6 seconds? Because that's about the same time that it takes to read an average tweet of 140 characters - clever eh? Despite some initial issues (with Facebook - surprise!) it looks like this particular product may just take off and change the way we make and consume video yet again.

Why Vine Might Just Be A Game Changer

Several companies have tried to launch this kind of app before (Viddy and Socialcam included) but Vine comes with a ready made and built in audience - 200 million active monthly Twitter users. The app (currently only available on iOS) is free and as 60% of Twitter users access their account via a mobile device, it's a potential marriage made in heaven.

We think that the 6 second limit is also going to prove vital to those brands and companies that will use the app to promote their services and products. Viewer attention span for the average video is very low so a short, snappy piece of film is going to be more digestible for many users, especially as they don't have to sit through a 10 second bumper to see what it's all about. This is going to force creators into being as concise but compelling as possible - something that can only benefit the longer videos they produce.

How Brands Have Started To Use Vine

It's only a few days old but some companies have already started to play with the new app (and pick up extra publicity because of it which never hurts). Both Gap and Urban Outfitters have released quirky but fun videos:

A trip down #Gap advertising memory lane for our #firstpost on Vine. vine.co/v/b5PeYQOLuLj

— Gap (@Gap) January 25, 2013

THERE'S A BEAR IN THE OFFICE! #workaholics vine.co/v/b5QXxZ9xnen

— Urban Outfitters (@UrbanOutfitters) January 25, 2013

NBC used Vine to break the story of a dolphin caught in a Brooklyn Canal (spoiler: it died)

The #dolphin stuck inside the #Gowanus Canal. Watch live: bit.ly/WYYmKa vine.co/v/b5PlQO6lQId

— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) January 25, 2013

Liverpool Football Club have used to it reach out to one of its fans - a video that was retweeted 664 times in 2 hours.

Happy Birthday Brendan Rodgers - This is Anfield #LFC #vine vine.co/v/b5LrILqnitI

— Liverpool FC(@LFC) January 26, 2013

Initial Concerns

If you are creative enough then Vine could be an excellent way to produce and distribute a micro-video but there are still teething problems with it - understandable for such a new product. Privacy settings are a little worrying (there are none) so anything can get through at the moment, including the inevitable porn mini movies that appeared within hours of the app going live. Also, at the moment, you can't upload a video that you have already shot,

You can follow the latest videos from Vine on Vinepeek or by using the Twitter search #vine.co. Let us know of your favourites so far.