If you think Instagram snapshots of
lunch plates, drooling babies and random desk objects are exciting, just
wait until your friends start posting 15-second videos.
You won't have to wait long. On Thursday, Facebook's popular Instagram photo-sharing app added a video feature.
Much like its competitor Vine, which is
owned by Twitter, Instagram now lets you record and share short videos
using a few taps of a finger on a mobile device.
Most people don't do this. Vine has just
13 million users (one-tenth of Instagram's user base), and no other
video-sharing apps have attracted mass appeal.
Part of the reason: technical
limitations. Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom said during the
service's unveiling that the video feature was initially left out of
Instagram because the "speed, simplicity and beauty" the creators
strived for in the app "were definitely possible with photos - but it
was really hard for video."
It's easier now. Internet connections
have become faster and mobile phones are snappier and equipped with
better cameras. And as Systrom promised, Instagram's video feature is
certainly simple. Download the latest version on your iPhone or Android
device.
Open it and tap the camera icon on the
bottom of the screen. This will take you to a new screen with a video
camera icon. Another tap and you're ready to go.
You can record whatever your little
heart desires. I opted for a shaky panorama of the newsroom with
close-ups on coworkers' faces, which I deleted.Another video featuring
different types of hot sauce and other things on my desk was better
received by my friends on Instagram.
The videos don't have to be shot in one take. Lift your finger and the recording stops until you tap the icon again. Writing about the feature is actually more complicated than using it.
The videos don't have to be shot in one take. Lift your finger and the recording stops until you tap the icon again. Writing about the feature is actually more complicated than using it.
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