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Vine's six-second slices of life get a big video-quality bump
Artists and comedians have been doing some truly amazing things with Vine since it launched as a Twitter product two years ago, but those mesmerizing slices of life that eat up your day in six-second increments have never really looked all that great. That's finally starting to change, according to a blog post by Vine API lead Mike Kaplinskiy -- you'll start seeing vines in 720p (up from the normal, eye-searing 480p) in the team's iOS and Android apps within the next few days, but some of them can already be spotted embedded around the web.
Vine will now load videos faster on iPhone -- even when you're offline
Vine's iPhone app is getting some major speed upgrades today. With its latest update, Vine will now preload videos even before you launch the app, which also makes some videos available when you're offline. Yes, that means you'll actually be able to check out Vines even when you're on the subway. To help make all of that possible, the company is now moving over to smaller video sizes (likely due to better compression), and it's implemented network caching, which stores videos for offline viewing. Specifically, the Vine app will now preload videos from your timeline and the Explore section, as well as your activity notifications. And yes, Android fans, a similar update is coming your way soon.
Twitter buys an agency that turns social networkers into ad stars
Twitter thrives on celebrities with legions of followers, and it just took a big step toward making a pile of money from those big names. The company has bought Niche, an agency that links social media stars like Zach King (above) to advertisers who want to capitalize on their popularity. Twitter isn't being specific about its plans, but it's not hard to figure out what comes next -- the service now has an easier way to get your favorite Twitter and Vine celebs into ads, raising the chances that you'll notice promo pieces in your feed. It's hard to tell if this will work, but Twitter may feel that there isn't much choice. It isn't having a great time scoring new users, so it might as well get more ad revenue from the people who are sticking around. [Image credit: Zach King]
Instagram introduces endlessly looping videos
When Vine introduced loop counts, it instantly replaced likes and shares to become the default metric to gauge the popularity of a video. Facebook has dabbled with a similar technique for auto-play videos in users' mobile Newsfeeds, but only now has it appeared on its other popular social network, Instagram. It comes in an update to the iOS app and across the web (expect Android to follow), ensuring that you'll automatically see your followers' 15 second (or less) videos over and over. Gone are pause buttons, replaced with the option to unmute videos that auto-play as you scroll down your feed.
Vine has released a special version of the app specifically for kids
Vine is a wonderful world of content -- adorable pets, occasionally brilliant sketch comedy, the odd heartfelt message of hope -- but it isn't one you'd want your children using unsupervised. Vine apparently agreed, and today launched Vine for Kids, a special version of the app free of the filth that brings joy to normal Vine users. The interface is slightly different from the original app. Kids swipe right or left to see new Vines, and when they tap on the screen the app makes goofy sounds. Here's an adorable Vine of a happy child trying the app. You can download Vine for Kids for free right now in the iTunes Store.
Vine Kids delivers family-friendly video loops
Let's be honest: Kids are really easy to entertain. Give 'em something that makes noise and flashes some pretty colors and they're set. And that's pretty much what Vine does, ad infinitum. There's sounds, and sites and it loops forever or until the kid swipes down to the next clip. The only issue is, not everything on Vine is what you'd call "family friendly." Chances are you've got at least one foul-mouthed coworker that's always posting six-second barrages of profanity. So during a recent hack week, where employees work on pet projects, rather than focus on daily responsibilities, a few folks built Vine Kids.
Twitter finally delivers group messaging and video
At its heart, Twitter seems to be suffering from some sort of existential crisis, struggling to work out if it's a social network, a messaging service or a publishing platform. Today sees the company launch two features that, if we're honest, only really tick the second and third items on that list. Starting from now, you see, users can host group direct messages with those in your social circle that can only be seen as a broadside on services like WhatsApp. The other big feature, meanwhile, is that Twitter's mobile apps will now let you record, edit and share 30-second videos straight to your timeline.
President Obama uses Facebook and Vine to preview his free college plan
President Barack Obama is previewing parts of his State of the Union address in a bid to drum up support ahead of the big speech, and his latest effort is breaking some ground -- both in the policy and how he's presenting it. The head of state took to Facebook, Twitter and Vine to unveil a proposal that would give Americans two free years of community college so long as they maintain good grades and graduate. It's a rare move for discussing politics online. While the president regularly makes announcements on social networks, it's not often that you get a peek at the State of the Union while you're catching up on friends' status updates and looping cat videos.
Viral Vine video reveals the celebrity torment of never-ending selfies
First known selfie, taken by Robert Cornelius in 1839 There is little doubt that 2010 was a pivotal year for the selfie -- Apple introduced the iPhone 4 with its stellar front-facing camera and popular filter photography app Instagram made its grand debut. The collision of these two forces in that year led to the explosive online growth of this self-portrait-style of photography. Fast forward four years and the selfie remains a big hit, with even celebrities contributing to the trend. It's not always a bed of roses, though, as shown in this viral vine of Liam Payne, singer and songwriter for British-Irish boy band One Direction. Check out the look he gives in between each lovely selfie smile. It's amusing and sad at the same time. Via Petapixel
Vine now lets you know when your favorite users post clips
If you're a Vine aficionado, you probably have a short list of people whose six-second videos you want to see right away -- you may want to marvel at a Zach King illusion or scratch your head at one of Will Sasso's lemon clips, for instance. Well, you won't have to wade through your feed to find gems from now on. Vine has updated its apps (we're only seeing the iOS update as of this writing) to let you favorite accounts; tap a star in the corner and you'll get a notification whenever that person posts something new. You can manage all your favorites from your settings if you ever lose interest. Yes, this is a super-simple addition, but it should help you cut through the clutter when you just want to see the hits.
Twitter will add video and build more standalone apps
During Twitter's analyst day conference there was also talk about future plans for features and even completely new apps. For one, there's been talk about expanding the use of Direct Messages. The idea would be that you could DM someone a public tweet and have a private conversation about it. The company is also planning to bring real-time video capture and editing to the Twitter platform proper. That means, rather than have to fire up Vine first, you can simply hit record from within the Twitter app to post video. While there are still a lot of questions about what the feature will look like exactly, we do know that it should be a little less restrictive than the six-second Vine service. Though, we doubt you'll be able to shoot a feature length film and share it directly from Twitter.
Vine for iOS now lets you follow channels to get their best videos
Vine is full of video creators talented enough to score TV deals, but keeping up with them has usually meant either following them one-by-one or browsing channels for ages. You have a much easier way to catch up on those clips as of today, though: Vine's iOS app now lets you follow channels, which puts featured videos in your feed alongside everything from people you follow. If you're a space buff, for instance, you can add the Science & Tech channel in hopes of seeing some orbital footage.
Rainn Wilson is making a TV show starring Vine celebrities
Best known for his roles in The Office and The Rocker, actor-turned-producer Rainn Wilson is reportedly getting ready to bring some of Vine's biggest personalities to TV. According to Deadline, Wilson is set to produce a comedy show called Hollywood and Vine, featuring popular members of Twitter's video-focused social network, like Curtis Lepore, Jerry Purpdrank, Simone Shepherd and a few others. Hollywood and Vine, which is said to be written by Lance Krall (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), will be based on following the lives of these Vine personalities as they try to make it into the crazed world that is Hollywood. A co-creator of Soul Pancake, the media company behind characters such as Kid President, Wilson is quite familiar with people who have gained fame thanks to the internet -- now it's just a matter of translating that to TV instead of YouTube.
You can now watch Vine videos on Xbox One, because why not
Vine's come a long way since its early days, and now it has yet another platform it can shine on: Xbox One. With this new application for Microsoft's gaming console, released today, users can start watching these six-second (or less) videos on a bigger screen right away. The Vine app on Xbox One comes with an interface that will be familiar to regular fans of the service, featuring Trending Tags, Playlists, Featured Users and other, more-specific categories like Comedy, DIY, Science & Tech and Sports. As Microsoft points out, this marks the fist time Vine has designed a viewing experience with TV in mind -- although some people may be disappointed they can't use Kinect to record Vines and share them directly from Xbox One. Still, let's not forget it is only the app's version 1.0. In the meantime, at the very least you have the option host a Vine-looping party, if that's your sort of thing.
Vine now looping infinitely on Xbox One
Social media phenomenon Vine is now available as an Xbox One app, allowing you to experience six-second bursts of brilliance and/or annoyance on your living room television. Vine lets users record and share edited video clips up to six seconds in length, giving a brief window of opportunity for creative expression and microblogging. Note that the Xbox One app only allows you to view and browse existing Vines -- you'll need a compatible smartphone to record and share your own clips. If you want some tips on getting the most out of Vine, our own Alexander Sliwinski is a certified expert in the field. Mike Suszek's "Who's Next?" clip is another personal favorite. Watching him record that live at E3 was a magical experience, let me tell you. [Image: Microsoft]
Vine now lets you use your Android phone's existing video clips
Not too long ago Vine blessed iOS users with the ability to import pre-existing videos into the app, and now Google fans can get in on the action. Any clips in your Android camera roll are viable subjects to be trimmed down to six seconds or shorter now, and you can activate your device's flashlight to work as a flash in low-light situations. There are a few other features too, and you can check those out on the app's Google Play page. Now all that's separating your from internet stardom is, well... you.
The first four Android apps for Chrome OS are here
Google promised that Android apps would eventually make their way to Chrome OS, and, well, here they are - the search giant announced that the first batch has just gone live in the Chrome Web Store. We knew that Vine and Evernote were on the short list of Android apps to make the leap, but there's no sign of Flipboard yet. Instead, we also got startup Duolingo's excellent language learning app and something called Sight Words, a tool to help little ones identify and recognize words (aww). Four apps may not seem like much to get worked up over, (especially since Duolingo and Evernote work just fine in a web browser) but it's just a start. Google says it'll work on getting more developers to use its App Runtime for Chrome "over the coming months," so don't go expecting a full-on Android invasion of Chrome OS any time soon.
What an iPhone impressionist does in his spare time
Check out this funny Vine from Manfred Hanberg that shows him harassing an innocent game player with some serious notification trolling. Though amusing, the best part of this Vine video isn't the prank itself, but the notification impressions, which are spot on. The talented iPhone impressionist should take this gag into crowded train and have some fun with the morning commuters.
Messaging's mission impossible: One inbox to rule them all
My phone buzzes. I glance at it and see a text message from my husband, who wants to know if I can pick him up from work. Later that day, my phone buzzes again. This time, it's a Facebook Messenger notification from my mother, who wants to chat about an upcoming trip. At the same time, a friend pings me using Twitter's Direct Messages. Next, a colleague strikes up a conversation on Google Hangouts. Realizing it would be easier to handle all of these with a computer, I flip open my laptop so I can chat with everyone simultaneously. Within the span of a few hours, I've chatted with four different people on four completely different messaging platforms. And the juggling doesn't stop there.
Vine adds new editing tools and imported camera roll videos to iOS app
Vine for iOS has just received a massive new update the finally gives the video app equal footing with its rival Instagram. For the first time on Vine you can now create posts using video clips from your device's camera roll, and then edit them to make your clip into the short film of your dreams. In some ways, Vine's import feature is stronger than Instagram's, with support for creating a single video clip from multiple videos. You can also mix in videos and shots taken in real time via the app. For Vine filmmakers, who already have figured out a number of impressive ways to utilize the service, this adds an incredible layer of extra editing power. This will finally allow users to make the most of their six seconds. Finally, on the editing front, users can now duplicate or trim clips depending on their needs. No longer waste a single second of your shots. The update also introduces new capture tools, including undo last recording, focus lock with the front-facing camera, and use of the flashlight when recording in low light environments. Vine's "Grid" video has been upgraded with a new level feature to let you know when you've got an uneven shot. To activate it simply double tap on the grid button. Lastly the update introduces more control of which notifications you receive, including likes, comments, revines, and more. If you only want to know who's sharing your work, this will help keep you from getting bothered with erroneous information. Vine 2.5.1 is available as a free download in the iTunes Store. You can watch a video preview below. The new Vine Camera from Vine on Vimeo.
