Vine: Twitter launches micro-video sharing service

Twitter has launched Vine video sharing service, an addition to the social network that allows users to embed six second videos within their tweets.

Vine was used first by Twitter boss Dick Costolo, who posted a clip of himself making steak tartare.

Twitter bought out developer Vine Labs, a start-up based in New York, in October last year.

The program is available as a stand-alone app in the Apple App Store – but not yet on other platforms.

Videos posted on Vine are on an infinite loop – in a manner similar to animated gifs, an image format that has been popular since the very early days of the internet.

“Like Tweets, the brevity of videos on Vine inspires creativity,” wrote Michael Sippey, Twitter’s vice president of product.

Dom Hofmann, co-founder of Vine, said the two companies shared “similar values and goals”.

“Posts on Vine are about abbreviation – the shortened form of something larger.

“They’re little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life.”

They will also be able to follow other Vine users and search for clips from people they know.

The acquisition could prove to be a shrewd move, one analyst said.

“Video will be the next new front in the battle to add more functionality to social platforms,” said Adrian Drury from research firm Ovum.

“In a way it is surprising that it has taken this long to integrate micro-video blogging,” he added.

“This is Twitter’s first effort and we see it as an early experiment and it will be interesting to see how consumers respond.”

Vine was used first by Twitter boss Dick Costolo, who posted a clip of himself making steak tartare.

Twitter bought out developer Vine Labs, a start-up based in New York, in October last year.

The program is available as a stand-alone app in the Apple App Store – but not yet on other platforms.

Videos posted on Vine are on an infinite loop – in a manner similar to animated gifs, an image format that has been popular since the very early days of the internet.

“Like Tweets, the brevity of videos on Vine inspires creativity,” wrote Michael Sippey, Twitter’s vice president of product.

Dom Hofmann, co-founder of Vine, said the two companies shared “similar values and goals”.

“Posts on Vine are about abbreviation – the shortened form of something larger.

“They’re little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life.”

They will also be able to follow other Vine users and search for clips from people they know.

The acquisition could prove to be a shrewd move, one analyst said.

“Video will be the next new front in the battle to add more functionality to social platforms,” said Adrian Drury from research firm Ovum.

“In a way it is surprising that it has taken this long to integrate micro-video blogging,” he added.

“This is Twitter’s first effort and we see it as an early experiment and it will be interesting to see how consumers respond.”