Suppose you’re at a hibachi restaurant. The chef prepares the meal in a really cool way, and you’re able to capture his preparation on video. Now, you want a way for your friends to see it, but what app would be the best way to do so?
Two major apps, Instagram and Vine, have risen to meet the needs of consumers who crave the ability to easily share their videos.
Vine debuted on iOS in January 2013 after it was purchased by Twitter. The app allows one to create a six second video, called a vine, and share it, and other people to like, comment, or “revine” (repost) the video on other vines. Vine has become increasingly popular with over thirteen millions users, and the numbers are only growing.
Instagram was released in early 2010 and was initially just a photo-sharing app. People posted photos of their lives, using Instagram’s famous filters to make their skin look clearer or their amateur camera phone pictures look like professional looking works of art.
However, in June 2013, Instagram made a very daring move by allowing their users to create fifteen-second videos, similar to their Vine opponents.
Now these two apps constantly make updates to compete for users. At the moment, Instagram has approximately 130 million users while Vine has a paltry 13 million in comparison.
So why is it that Vine has not been kicked to the curb, discarded with all the rest of the smaller apps trying to work against Instagram? Although Instagram has many more users, Vine has become a creative haven for amateur comedians who are trying to get themselves noticed. Vine has attracted many “Viners” who create Vines that entertain many teens.
“I prefer Vines because of the comedy,” sophomore Nicole Schiraldi said. “Vine is more for an act or skit, while Instagram is for people [capturing] their personal experiences.”
Many people seem to be frustrated with the way Instagram videos run. “Instagram videos take a long time to load and you can’t pause them like you can on Vine,” sophomore Jennie Toutoulis said.
People often use Vine over Instagram if they want to become famous. According to Digiday.com, Vine videos are four times more likely to be seen by a large audience compared to regular videos on Instagram, since the “Revine” button allows people to share their video with their followers. This can create a domino effect; suddenly a person’s video can have thousands of likes and revines from people around the world.
Olivia Rohrecker, sophomore, recorded a video of Justin Bieber singing and posted it on Vine, and it soon went viral. “I got a couple thousand revines and a lot of Bieber fans were commenting on it,” Rohrecker said, “It was really cool having a lot of people see my Vine.”
Instagram has many more followers than Vine does in addition to a longer video time slot. However, people are constantly drawn to Vine because of its creative edge and its ability to attract global audiences. Although Instagram is currently leading the way, Vine is slowly working its way up the ranks of social media.