Instagram launches 15-second video feature.
On Thursday, the company
announced its 130 million monthly users will now be able to shoot and
share 15-second videos, dressed up with one of 13 special filters. The new video feature was
made available to all iOS and Android Instagram users around the world
Thursday as a free update to the existing Instagram app. The basic look
of the app is the same, but a small movie icon has been added that takes
you into video mode.
The changes were
announced by Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom during a press
event at the headquarters of Facebook, which bought Instagram last year.
"It's everything we know and love about Instagram, but it moves," Systrom said.
The video-sharing feature
was widely expected and puts Instagram in direct competition with Vine,
the popular Twitter-owned app that lets users share looping six-second
video clips. Vine has skyrocketed in popularity in the six months since
it launched, attracting more than 13 million users. Many of the
six-second videos have a unique look and feel, employing fast cuts and
stop-motion animations to tell quirky little stories.
Vine, Instagram and the rise of bite-sized video
On Instagram, the videos
can be between three and 15 seconds long and include any number of
individual video clips. But the coolest feature may come after you shoot
the video: 13 brand-new filters, created by an artist specifically for
Instagram video. They do the usual tweaks to make video pop, like adding
vignettes, upping the contrast and playing with color. There is also an
image-stabilization feature to even out shaky videos shot on the go.
For now, videos can only
be shot from within the Instagram app, and there is no way to upload
existing video from your phone's camera roll.
The 15-second limit was
chosen after testing different times, said Systrom, who called it the
right balance "between not too short that it constrains your creativity"
and not so long that you have to wait a while for a file to upload.
In its two and a half
years, Instagram has hosted 16 billion photos, Systrom said. Users post 1
billion likes a day, and 130 million people use the service each month,
he said.
Systrom built up to the announcement with some flowery language about the significance of the new product.
"It's a powerful way to
learn about new concepts, ideas and causes that move the world forward
in a significant way," he said. "It's our collective belief that the
world is better off collected and shared permanently."
Not to be outdone, Vine
seems to be readying some new features itself. The app's co-founders
posted several Vines Wednesday that suggest users will soon have the
ability to save drafts, splice bits of multiple Vines together and
browse content based on categories and genres.
The video-sharing news
is the latest step in Facebook's quest to conquer mobile devices. The
company has worked hard to increase revenue from mobile ads, which now
make up 30% of the company's ad revenue.
Credit: cnn.com
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