Debut of InstaVideo
Okay, so that’s not the actual name of Instagram’s newest feature, but hey that would make a nice hashtag wouldn’t it?
Facebook held a press conference today to clear up rumors about Instagram getting a video feature, as we mentioned in yesterday’s post. Turns out the rumors were true and after seeing it up close, I’m honestly starting to feel worried for competitor Vine. Although it wasn’t mentioned by CEO and Co-Founder of Instagram, Kevin Systrom, Video on Instagram is inevitably going to give Vine a run for its money.
Vine, owned by Twitter, was released earlier this year and suffered harsh criticism from users initially. To date, Vine has addressed most of the issues brought up by the public and has become adopted as the “Instagram, but with Videos” app. Earlier this month, they’ve released an Android version to increase their user count, and it wasn’t until after that release that the app started to really take flight.
But with the updated Instagram, one has to wonder if Vine will be able to keep up. Already, the official video for Instagram offers features not yet available on Vine, showing users that Instagram learned from Vine’s initial mistakes. Typical “Twitter vs Facebook” battle I would say. These are the features:
Video Recording
Users are allowed to record up to 15 seconds of video and can do so clip by clip. If you have used Vine, then you know how frustrating it is when you make a mistake and have to re record from the beginning. Instagram provided the ability to delete a clip and re-record from where they left off, ultimately allowing cleaner editing and better overall video content.
That’s not all. Instagram took it a step further and added “Cinema”, a feature that stabilizes video. That’s right – no more shaking videos, headaches, or dizziness from watching crazy recordings. Although this feature doesn’t make you an expert videographer, at least we can pretend like we are.
Filters
I’m sure we can all agree when I say that it wouldn’t be Instagram without their famous filters, right? 13 brand new filters specifically for videos are available for users to make their content appear even better.
Cover Frame
Unlike Vine, which starts every video from the beginning, you are allowed to choose a thumbnail that your followers will see. This is a brand new feature is called the “cover frame”. Choose something that will attract users and make them want to watch your video.
Same Old, Same Old
Both the feed and your profile will remain the same. Videos do not have a special folder or place to be displayed. On your feed and profile, videos will be marked by an icon in the upper right hand corner.
The new video feature is instantly available for both iOS and Android users today. Updates have already been implemented giving users the new feature. People are already taking advantage of the new feature, as I can see just from scrolling down my Instagram feed, and a common caption I’m noticing is “So is this going to be like Vine?”.
Well, that really is the question – is it going to be the “new Vine” or is it just going to just annihilate the competition completely?
The two social media giants have been striving to outsmart the other since Twitter emerged onto the scene in 2006 (Facebook est. 2004). Personally, I think Facebook has taken this round, but I don’t think we should underestimate rival Twitter. After all, we have been seeing Twitter’s innovative hashtag making its way to Facebook, haven’t we?
Do you think these two new apps can coexist?