Instagram that launched its 15-second editable video functionality complete with image stabilization feature means a lot to Vine, a mobile app owned by Twitter that enables its users to create and post video clips.
By entering the competition with Vine, Instagram should give users plenty to be excited about. And both apps will likely continue to thrive.
Where Instagram's user base consists mostly of people documenting their food, and pets, Vine has attracted a group of users who are pleased by the challenges set forth in the app.
Instagram's filters, longer video length, stability technology and already-ingrained user behavior will keep its video offering very similar to its photo offering. At the same time, Vine's increasingly growing community of creatives and designers will likely continue to blossom, as well.
There was a time when YouTube pioneered video sharing. Today, video sharing has taken a new step where short videos can also be made as meaningful to be shared among the masses.
Video Creation
Vine videos are approximately 6.5 seconds long. Twitter and Vine put a lot of research into this video length, determining that it's the perfect length for video consumption, and forces the creator to think outside of the box in order to tell a story is a small amount of time.
On the other hand, Instagram video allows for 15 seconds of video, more than twice of Vine's, in which could feel long for the Instagram video viewer, but roomy and quite comfortable for the creator.
Both platforms let users shoot multiple, disjointed clips and out them together. However, Instagram will let users delete the last clip that they shot in a series. Users are not allowed to delete the second clip in a series, without deleting the fourth and third first. In other words, users can only remove the most recent clip taken.
Vine, on the other hand, doesn't let users edit videos at all. The founders teased the ability to create multiple drafts within the app, which would allow for a little more freedom creatively.
Neither Vine nor Instagram will let users pull video from your camera roll. Both insist that users shoot video within the respective apps. However, both apps will instantly save the "Vined" or "Instagrammed" clips to the camera gallery for later use.
Both apps also have front-facing camera functionality in common. Both Vine and Instagram will let you switch back and forth between front- and rear-facing cameras while shooting a video. Both apps also let users mention other users and tag them.
The Facebook's Instagram app has indeed provided filters for its new video-sharing function, and the brand new filters from the same old photo filters users are used to. There are 13 new filters in all, and each of them are specifically designed with video in mind.
Vine does not offer filters. It appears that Vine is still interested in giving creators tools to make interesting, beautiful moving imagery..
The Instagram's Cinema feature helps stabilize video shot within the app. Though image stabilization software is said to sacrifice image quality in other ways, most of the time, it shouldn't be too much of a problem for Instagram's user base. Vine has no such feature.
Video Sharing
Sharing options haven't expanded for either app. Vine only lets users share to Vine, Facebook, and Twitter, Instagram lets users share videos to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, and foursquare, as well as through email. Instagram, on July 2013, introduced web embeds for photos and videos.
However, it's worth remembering that Twitter's Vine has full Twitter card support, meaning Vines display right in users' Twitter stream.
Both apps have geo-tagging capability, but only Instagram offers a photo map letting users surf photos based on locations.
Video Consumption
The Instagram specification remains much unchanged from its photo counterpart. Videos are still square, just like photos, but with a little camcorder icon on the top right corner.
Both Instagram and VIne will autoplay videos, but Instagram seems to offer a little two-second buffer waiting. Vine, on the other hand, is quicker.
Neither app has options for silencing video within the mobile apps, unless the user turns the sound on their smartphone off.
On desktop, Vine's video can be muted where Instagram videos can not. Vine has also offered users the ability to embed Vines via desktop, which is a feature Instagram didn't include in its Instagram.com website.
Another, difference with regards to consumption is the fact that Vine videos loop, while Instagram videos only play once. This gives Vines a more gif-like quality, especially when combined to the shorter, six-second limit. Instagram videos are more of a movie-making story with a beginning and an end.
Vine already has a solid user base of video-sharing addicts. They craved snackable video-sharing before an app like Instagram could give it to them. The limits placed upon them by Twitter's disposition towards brevity makes Vine a more creative place to be.
Instagram video will surely slow Vine's growth to an extent. Instagram built a video-sharing product for the masses. There's plenty of time to shoot a video, users can make it attractive with filters, and they'll even help users with a steady hand. But Instagram video's mass market appeal only makes Vine's niche, creative-focused breed of video-sharing that much more niche, and creative-focused.
Only time will tell how the two apps compete in the market. Even if it takes a while for both to compete in the mainstream of sharing, there are plenty of videos for people to watch and enjoy.