Without anything too flashy or 'game-changing' in a wider sense, Twitter-owned video app Vine has added a heap of great, functional features over the last year. Here's a re-cap of some of the top additions Vine's made in 2015:
- New 'Remix' capability to use audio tracks from pre-existing Vines
- Ability to show Twitter/Vine links and data on associated profiles
- Added 'Snap to Beat' music editing functionality
- Significant improvement to content search and discovery
- Enhanced load time in both on and offline modes
All of these updates, in themselves, are relatively minor - just little, functional boosts that improve certain aspects of the platform. But when looked at as a whole, they have lead to a significant, wider change in the app, each lead by user preferences and behaviors, and each expanding the possibilities of the platform.
Further to this, Vine has now announced another update, this time making it easier to find similar content - all you have to do is swipe left.
Similarities and Searches
As highlighted in the above example, swiping left will uncover Vines that the app has determined match the content that you're viewing. How, exactly, Vine determines that similarity isn't clear - when Vine announced their first version of similar Vines back in October, they provided a brief explanation of their system's inner workings:
"When you tap Similar Vines under a post, you'll see additional Vines based on the new recommendation engine we've been working on. As you and your fellow Vine viewers watch and interact with Vines, that activity helps us determine which posts to show."
As such, it seems the discovery system likely uses a mixture of tags (the most obvious search point), keywords and interactions to determine related material. In the announcement post, Vine noted that they've been trying out new kinds of recommendations, though it seems unlikely that they're using any sort of image recognition technology, which is what Snapchat appears to be using in their new search and discovery function, which was announced earlier this week.
The new tools will make it easier to find more related content and get people to spend more time on Vine, which is a big focus for the platform. While Vine content generates a lot of shares and interest, most of those shares come off-platform, when people re-share the content via tweet, post - or even through 'Best of Vine' compilations on YouTube. The platform's looking to better engage users and keep them around - an element of the recently announced 'Remix' functionality was improved search, enabling users to find Vines using the same audio track or locate the source of remixed Vines in one click. If Vine can keep users on-platform by helping them find more content related to their interests, that could be a big boost for its growth prospects, and improving those search tools is obviously a crucial element in that equation.
Fruit Combo
In addition to the new search functionality, Vine's also announced that it's now available on the Apple Watch.
"Our Apple Watch app provides two feeds: Favorites and Featured. In Favorites, you can watch posts from the creators you've selected as a Favorite. In Featured, you'll see Vines that have been hand-selected across channels like Comedy, Music and Sports. And just like our mobile apps, you can like and Revine directly from Apple Watch."
While the jury's still out on the Apple Watch (I'm not willing to bet against it just yet), the Vine addition gives the app another outlet, another way to reach more users and expand the reach of their content. And, if the Apple Watch does take hold as many are predicting wearables will do, it'll ensure Vine is positioned to capitalize on that attention and reach more users, which may prove important, particularly if Vine sees a boost in growth - which just might be on the cards for the app.
Video Addiction
Here's the thing - it's possible that Vine could be on the brink of a 'breakout season'. Video's undoubtedly the star of social media at the moment - there's more video content being shared than ever before, every major platform is jumping onto the video trend in an effort to keep up with user demand. Advances in mobile technology and connectivity have lead to an evolution in consumer expectations on content - if people have the option of watching video or reading a post while they catch the bus on the way home, they'll likely choose the video in most cases. Given this, the next generation of consumers coming through are already being attuned to video, they're growing up with video production and creation engrained in who they are and how they communicate. Just as you might send a photo, they might send a video, and as we transition from GIFs to actual video content, Vine might sit right in that sweet spot, that intersection between a few frames of animation and just enough room to create a narrative moment.
Of course, there's a range of video options available - to single Vine out as the key platform to potentially benefit here might not make sense. But the numbers do work in Vine's favor - in August this year, Vine noted (as a side note in an announcement post) that they now have more than 200 million monthly active users. Vine was launched in January 2013, which means they've grown to 200 million users in around 32 months of existence. By comparison, Instagram, which has been the fastest growing platform over the last two years, took 41 months to achieve that same level of MAUs. Now, granted, the wider growth of social media as a whole somewhat clouds those growth stats - more people being more active online means newer platforms are, inevitably, going to grow faster than they would have back in the day. But even taking that into account, Vine's growth rate is impressive and underlines its quiet achiever status. The next level, of course, is seeing the continued growth of those user stats - Instagram reached 200 million MAUs in March 2014, then upped it to 400 million 18 months later. But given the trend towards video content, and the clever user experience upgrades being added by Vine, the platform is in a good position to capitalize on their expanding popularity and role within the proliferation of wider social media trends.
It's not a given, sure, but don't be surprised if Vine sees a sudden spike in the next 12 months. It might be worth paying attention to the 6-second video platform and considering whether it's worth integrating into your marketing strategy.