Vine : 6 second video app
Twitter just released its IOS apps a few days ago called Vine. User can create a 6 second looped video and share it with their friends. Some comments said that this move is a better use of UGC (User Generated Content). I think Twitter is actually paving the way for video advertising.
Twitter, is a text based social network website in the very beginning. In Jun 2011, it started to provide image upload and sharing feature in order to retain users. The latest move is simply a step forward to support video creation and sharing for Twitter user. Twitter put this feature up as a separate app is a smart move since video content creation is a relative complicated process. Twitter want to keep Twitter layout and feature neat and clear for communication rather than content creation. Keep it as a separate brand also enables the content dissemination across different social networking website.
Back to the Vine’s feature, it is so simple and some commentator simply called it the 6 second video Instagram. I think there are a few good reason why Twitter would like to restrict video length to be 6 seconds:
1. The Internet users nowadays are very inpatient. The 6 second length limit is even shorter than a TVC which used to be 10 seconds or longer. This 6 second limit is a challenge the status quo and also the users – how to better use that 6 second video (definitely they cannot insert 200+ images inside like cinema movies).
2. In the longer term, when Twitter users and other vine users are used to that 6 second limit, will it be a new video ad format? Thank about the youtube video ad that users can skip the video after a few seconds. If the video ad is just 6 seconds long, it will be viewed completely before being stopped. As a result, advertisers can communicate the whole ad message to their target audience which will postively impact the campaign effectiveness.
3. The third point is also ad related. With this video content creation app available, Twitter can also unblock the advertisers who are affordable for video ad creation.
All these suggested why BlackRock was just reported last Friday (1/25/2013) that she has taken an USD 80 million stake in Twitter.