Vine, a video-creating app linked to Twitter, has amassed a following among select students at this university. Above, sophomore journalism major Alexis Anthony uses her iPhone to record a video with Vine, which is currently available only on iOS devices.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. This short interval is the new time span of the Internet.
Vine, a video-creating app linked to Twitter, was introduced on Jan. 24 for iOS devices and dubbed a “mobile service that lets you capture and share short looping videos,” according to Twitter’s blog. Much like tweets, the post continued, these videos are self-recorded slices of life, as they can only last for six seconds.
While not yet available for Android, Vine is the third-most downloaded free app in Apple’s App Store and used to hold the top spot. It’s made everyday life into a GIF — with sound — that loops into eternity. This sudden popularity and unconventional design could mark a new era of Internet phenomena that values simplicity over a range of effects.
Vine’s rise to fame seemed to come out of nowhere. At the time of its debut, there were several other video apps on the market, including Cinemagram, which features filters and animating effects for video and launched in 2011. Another competitor, Viddy, allows a 30-second record time and video filters.
Vine’s introduction on its blog calls the video-looping app an abbreviation, fueling the idea that short bursts of life spur creativity. “They’re quirky,” the post reads, “and we think that’s part of what makes them so special.”
Its recent update allows recording from a front-facing camera and tagging other Vine users in posts, changes that have been well-received. The app doesn’t allow users to draw from videos on a phone’s library, however, which has prompted some negative feedback — but not enough to turn away a substantial number of users.
PJ Rey, a sociology doctoral student at this university, said one of Vine’s biggest draws over its competitors is its support from Twitter.
Vine’s innovation ( all files are raw and created with the touch of a button) gets people more involved in the videos and therefore more willing to experiment, he added. It’s why stop-motion videos have skyrocketed in number on the app.
“I do think that condensed nature is part of the appeal,” Rey said.
Other students at this university have found Vine to be the creative outlet they didn’t know they needed. Unlike other social media apps such as Instagram and Twitter, sophomore Japanese major Dan Cordero said, Vine is a unique way to showcase small bits of your life.
“Instagram has been around for a while, and videos are way more interesting than pictures of things on Instagram,” he said. “If that can stick around, then I think Vine can, but you never know with these things.”
Cordero became a Vine user after recently transitioning to an iPhone. His videos feature his friends at parties and him using drumsticks to hit objects in his dorm room. He finds that the more random and strange he can make his videos, the more people enjoy them and the funnier they are to the outside world.
“I want Vine to get really big, to the point that it’s my primary social network,” he said. “This probably won’t happen, but I want this to be the first thing that people judge me for on the Internet.”
Cordero’s enthusiasm for Vine is strong, but he did note he only follows about 30 other users, and some of those are members of bands. (He likes that it’s a new way to connect with the artists he enjoys.) But one of his favorite Vine users is junior music major and percussionist Robby Bowen. A quick scroll through Bowen’s Vine turns up a variety of short films, ranging from Bowen being “attacked” by a friend to chaotic shots of him playing drums.
“I like that Vine has strict limitations,” Bowen said. “No longer than six seconds and no chance to edit afterwards. It makes it a lot more difficult to create something exciting, which is part of the fun. You either accept what you’ve created or scrap it completely.”
The popularity of video apps could reflect the cycle of Internet memes, Rey said: One day, they’ve gone viral; the next, people have moved on. But that’s part of the fun.
“Even if everyone were to stop using it, I’d still go back and look at it,” Bowen said, “because there are some seriously hilarious memories stored in that app.”
