Vine (service)

Vine
Original author(s) Dom Hofmann
Rus Yusupov
Colin Kroll
Developer(s) Twitter
Initial release January 24, 2013
Development status Active
Operating system iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Xbox One, Windows, OSX
Size 14 MB
Available in 25 languages
Type Video sharing
License Freeware
Alexa rank positive decrease 636 (April 2015)[1]
Website vine.co

Vine is a short-form video sharing service. It was founded in June 2012, and microblogging website Twitter acquired it in October 2012, just before its official launch. The service lets users record and edit up to six-second-long looping video clips and revine, or share others' posts with followers. Some Vines are revined automatically based on what is popular. The videos can then be published through Vine's social network and shared on other services such as Facebook and Twitter. Vine's app can also be used to browse through videos posted by other users, along with groups of videos by theme, and trending, or popular, videos.

History

Vine app's signup option page. Users are given the options of signing up through Twitter or by email.

Vine was founded by Dom Hofmann, Rus Yusupov, and Colin Kroll in June 2012. The company was acquired by Twitter in October 2012 for a reported $30 million.[2][3]

Vine officially launched on January 24, 2013[4][5] as a free app for iOS devices. On June 2, 2013, an Android version was released.[6] On 12 November 2013 the application was released for Windows Phone.[7]

In a couple of months, Vine became the most used video sharing application in the market, even with low adoption of the app.[8] On April 9, 2013, Vine became the most-downloaded free app within the iOS App Store[9] and on May 1, 2014, Vine launched the web version of the service to explore videos.[10]

On October 14, 2014, an Xbox One version was released allowing Xbox Live members to watch the looping videos.[11]

In January, 2015, Vine launched Vine Kids, an app designed specifically for children. [12] In addition to offering age-appropriate video loops for children, the app includes interactive features allowing users to swipe for new videos and to hear different sounds. The app is only available to Apple iOS users.

Features

Vine enables users to record short video clips up to around six seconds long[13][4][14][5] while recording through its in-app camera. The camera records only while the screen is being touched, enabling users to edit on the fly or create stop motion effects.[15]

Additional features were added to the app in July 2013; these include grid and ghost image tools for the camera, curated channels (including themed areas and trending topics/users), the ability to "revine" videos on a personal stream, and protected posts.[16]

In July 2014, Vine updated their app with a new "loop count" meaning every time someone watches a vine, a number on top of the video will appear showing how many times it was viewed. The "loop count" also includes views from vines that are embedded onto other websites.[17][18]

Uses

Vine has attracted different types of uses, including short-form comedy and music performances, [19] and stop motion animation.[20] The service has also been used for journalism: on February 1, 2013, a Turkish journalist used it to document the aftermath of the 2013 United States embassy bombing in Ankara.[21] Vine has also gained ground as a promotional tool; in 2013, the track listing of Daft Punk's album Random Access Memories was revealed via a Vine video,[22] and on September 9, 2013, Dunkin Donuts became the first company to use a single Vine as an entire television advertisement.[23]

Music-oriented videos have also had success on the service; in July 2013, a Vine post featuring a group of women twerking to the 2012 song "Don't Drop That Thun Thun" became viral, spawned response videos, and led the previously-obscure song to peak at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[24][25][26]

In March 2013, 22 Vines were presented in an exhibit entitled #SVAES (The Shortest Video Art Ever Sold) at the Moving Image art fair in New York City. Copies of the videos were available to purchase on thumb drives for US$200 each. Angela Washko's "Tits on Tits on Ikea" was sold to Dutch art advisor, curator and collector Myriam Vanneschi during the event, marking the first ever sale of a Vine as art.[27]

Popular users

As of March 2015, Viner KingBach is the service's most followed user, with over 11 million followers. Other people known for their Vine videos are US based Brittany Furlan, Nash Grier, Curtis Lepore, Jerome Jarre, Thomas Sanders, Lele Pons and popular British viner Ben Phillips.

Brooklyn rapper Bobby Shmurda earned a record deal as a result of posting a Vine clip which attracted more than 3.3 million views and imitations from Kevin Durant and Beyoncé.[28]

The immense popularity of this application among 14-20 year olds has given rise to notable influencers within Vine. Contributing to the phenomenon of influencer marketing, Vine has seen an influx of brand penetration and marketing efforts. Many companies have begun to use this platform as an advertising channel, by having popular users endorse products.

Reception

A BBC review described collections of Vine videos to be "mesmerizing", like "[watching a] bewildering carousel of six-second slices of ordinary life [roll] past."[20]

Soon after its launch, Vine faced criticism for how it handled pornography; while porn is not forbidden by Twitter's guidelines,[29] one sexually explicit clip was accidentally featured as an "Editor's Pick" in the Vine app as a result of "human error".[30] Because pornographic content violates Apple's terms of service,[31] the app's rating was changed to 17+ in February 2013 following a request by Apple.[32]

Vine was listed among Time's 50 Best Android Apps for 2013.[33]

See also

References

  1. "Website Rank". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  2. Fried, Ina (October 9, 2012). "Twitter Buys Vine, a Video Clip Company That Never Launched". AllThingsD. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  3. "Instagram Video Taking a Swing at Vine: Study". CNBC.com. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Sippey, Michael (January 24, 2013). "Vine: A new way to share video". Twitter Blog. Twitter. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Crook, Jordan (January 24, 2013). "Twitter’s 6-Second Video Sharing App, Vine, Goes Live In The App Store". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  6. "Vine for android". Vine.co. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  7. Swigart, Ryan (12 November 2013). "Say hello to Vine for Windows Phone". Vine Blog. Tumblr. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  8. Moore, Robert (March 6, 2013). "TechCrunch – Vine Takes Early Command In The Mobile Video Market Over Viddy, Socialcam And Others Despite Low Adoption". techcrunch.com. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  9. Souppouris, Aaron (April 9, 2013). "The Verge – Vine is now the number one free app in the US App Store". The Verge. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  10. Det, Janessa (May 1, 2014). "Vine.co has a new look". Vine blog. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  11. "Vine on Xbox One". Vine.co. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  12. "Vine's New Kids App Is Friendly For Younger Audiences". Forbes.com. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  13. "Guess what? Vine videos are longer than six seconds". CNET. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  14. Dave, Paresh (June 20, 2013). "Video app Vine's popularity is spreading, seven seconds at a time – Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  15. Hamburger, Ellis (April 25, 2013). "Tao of Vine: the creators of Twitter's video platform speak out – and promise an Android app 'soon'". The Verge.
  16. "Vine update for iOS adds redesigned camera, 'revining,' and channels". The Verge. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  17. "Introducing Loop counts.". Vine.co. Vine.co. July 1, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  18. Farooqui, Adnan (July 1, 2014). "Vine Update Brings Loop Counts". ubergizmo. ubergizmo. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
  19. Hathaway, Jay (July 5, 2013). "Vine and the art of 6-second comedy". The Daily Dot. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  20. 20.0 20.1 Rohrer, Finlo (January 31, 2013). "BBC News – Vine: Six things people have learned about six-second video in a week". BBC News. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  21. Ungerleider, Neal (February 7, 2013). "Using Vine To Cover Breaking News". Fast Company. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  22. Minsker, Evan and Phillips, Amy (16 April 2013). "Daft Punk Reveal Random Access Memories Tracklist Via Vine Video". Pitchfork Media. Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 16 April 2013. [...] The French robot duo have shared the album's tracklist via a Vine video which can be watched below.
  23. Heine, Christopher (September 8, 2013). "Dunkin' Donuts Is Launching the First TV Ad Made Entirely From Vine". Adweek. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  24. "'Wop' Life: How a Miley Cyrus Twerk Video Started Rap's 'Harlem Shake' Moment". Spin. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  25. "10 Viral Video Hits That Charted On The Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  26. "How Twerking on Vine Sent Years-Old Rap Songs Up The iTunes Charts". Animal New York. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  27. Miller, Rachel. "Moving Image art fair sells first ever 'Vine-art'". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  28. http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6229388/bobby-shmurda-vine-hot-shmoney-dance-epic-records-interview
  29. Musil, Steven (January 27, 2013). "Pornographic video clips already showing up on Twitter's Vine". CNET. CNET. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  30. "Twitter accidentally promotes porn clip". 3 News NZ. January 29, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  31. Stern, Joanna (January 28, 2013). "Porn Appears in Twitter's New Vine App". ABC News. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  32. "Twitter's Vine Changes App Store Rating to +17, Adds Social Sharing Features". ABC News. February 6, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  33. Newman, Jared (June 30, 2013). "50 Best Android Apps for 2013". Time. Retrieved June 30, 2013.

External links