These simple, six-second videos are the future of social media
Vine is essentially Instagram, but with video. It sounds simple, but the results are astounding. Think of Vine less as short videos and more as living snapshots.
Even better, Twitter's new tool is exceptionally easy to use. You hold your finger on your phone's screen to record a scene up to six seconds long. To stop recording, lift your finger. To resume recording, press the screen again.
SEE ALSO: The week's best of the internet
Whereas the tweet gave short blurts of written information to the world, and Instagram gave us pictures, Vine looks to break the video barrier by allowing anyone to shoot, edit, and share video directly from their phones. It's the sort of thing that would have been unimaginable just five years ago during the age of Motorola Razrs. And already, it's amazing what people have been able to come up with. Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney has gotten in on the action, asking fans to guess a song, as have have the Brooklyn Nets, who show off with some warmup footage.
Can you name this song...? vine.co/v/bJjdTLBnwx1
SEE ALSO: VIDEO: Meet your friendly neighborhood burrito-delivering, tiger-saving drones
— Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) January 29, 2013
Warming up, the Brooklyn way. vine.co/v/bJg1axXlLgL
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 29, 2013
And check out Pitchforkfounder Ryan Schrieber's video of up-and-coming Danish punk band Iceage. It legitimately gives you a sense of what the show was like. You could, in all practicality, break bands this way.SEE ALSO: 6 more products and gadgets from CES 2013 that you should care about
ICEAGE @285kent vine.co/v/b5EE2z0VzJM
— Ryan Schreiber (@ryanpitchfork) January 26, 2013
Vine might not be for everyone. But people said the same thing about Twitter when it first started, and its 140-character dispatches clearly revolutionized the way we communicate online. Vine will do the same.SEE ALSO: 7 products and gadgets from CES 2013 that you should care about
For now, what makes Vine great might also be what is hindering its initial spread into the mainstream: While the McCartneys of the world are doing really creative and compelling things, most people are using Vine in a rather simplistic fashion. Take the first video I ever made on it, for instance: Hand motions on a loop made while watching It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
My #firstpost on Vine vine.co/v/b52Vutgil0V
SEE ALSO: 4 benefits of writing by hand
— Ned Hepburn (@nedhepburn) January 26, 2013
My #firstpost on Vine. Already addicted vine.co/v/b1ZOXbeqQ6a
— kevin jonas (@kevinjonas) January 31, 2013
When good things come together. Introducing our first Vine. #myfirstvine vine.co/v/b52DvxmdKZt
SEE ALSO: The week's best of the internet
— Malibu Rum (@Malibu_Rum) January 26, 2013
Dying for a coffee. #magic #vineart #pleaselike vine.co/v/bJwnA9qjYiH
— Ian Padgham (@origiful) January 29, 2013
SEE ALSO: Life in the age of internet addiction
View this article on TheWeek.com Get 4 Free Issues of The Week
Other stories from this section:
- The week's best of the internet
- Should Apple make a bigger, bolder 'iPhone Plus'?
- How I learned to stop worrying and love Twitter

