Despite initially being on the forefront of the emerging video sharing market, Vine was overshadowed by other applications. Vine’s lack of innovation led to slow growth, leaving shareholders unable to justify high operating costs. As a result, on October 27 Twitter announced that they would be discontinuing Vine “in the coming months.” With Vine enthusiasts lamenting the death of the social media platform, the question remains: where do they go from here? Luckily, there are plenty of other apps that are more than happy to take in Vine refugees.
Twitter was built around a simple caveat, Tweets could not exceed 140 characters. At first, pictures and videos were difficult to embed into tweets. Branching out into multimedia was obviously part of Twitter’s game plan, as they acquired Vine before it even went public.
However, user demand prompted Twitter to evolve. Now users can post images as well as videos ranging from two seconds to 180 seconds in length. Since Twitter owns Vine, the ability to add short-form videos to Tweets essentially makes Vine redundant, hence why it is going away.
Instagram came on the scene back in 2010 as a photo-sharing social media platform. Since then, Instagram has exploded in popularity, surpassing 500 million users in 2016. Originally limited to photos, Instagram integrated video sharing in 2013. However, there were a number of limitations, including a fifteen-second duration and fixed resolution.
Since 2015, videos posted to Instagram can be up to 60 seconds and 1080p. Instagram allows filters and other post-processing tools to customize the look of your videos, just like your photos.
Coub
Coub calls itself the best Vine alternative on the market, and they may be right. The app emulates the principles of Vine while incorporating welcome enhancements. Coub allows users to make ten-second video loops from YouTube, gifs, your camera library, and even existing Vines. In addition, you can add a soundtrack from your own MP3 collection or audio from YouTube.
Videos created with Coub can be horizontal, vertical, widescreen, any format you choose. Coub also supports HD which means that your clips will remain in its uncompressed native resolution.
Tout
Tout has touted (sorry) itself as a “video reporter application,” which is a fancy way of saying it allows you to share video clips on the go. Videos can be published on a personal website, various social media profiles and the app simultaneously.
Tout markets itself as an easy one-stop-shop for content creators looking to monetize their videos. By providing simple video publishing tools and integrated advertising, users can earn ad revenue instantly. As a result, the platform has been adopted by some of the biggest media brands around the world including Time, Fox News, Sky News and more.
Snapchat
Best known as the app that allows users to share self destructing pictures to others, Snapchat has evolved over time into a social media heavyweight. Snapchat’s popularity soared, despite the idea of temporary photos being somewhat curious. Earlier this year Snapchat’s number of daily users surpassed Twitter. By incorporating the ability to shoot video as well as various post-editing tools, Snapchat is proving it has legs and is gunning for the big boys. Are you mourning the fall of Vine? Which Vine alternative do you prefer? Let us know in the comments.
