Apr
If Twitter is the next big thing (or the current big thing) in terms of immediate, bite-sized communications, then 12seconds.tv may be the video equivalent. But is 12 seconds of video actually enough to communicate anything worth while? Clearly the website founders think so – and apparently so do quite a few users, including NBA star Shaquille O’Neal.
People wondered whether Twitter’s 140-character limit would render the tool useless, and that’s undoubtedly become a moot point (it’s even spurred mini-mockumentary style spoofs about even shorter character requirements (see Flutter)). So, I see no reason why 12 seconds of video couldn’t be a way more people start expressing themselves.
The significance of the fact that Shaq has used 12seconds.tv (albeit only once as of this posting) is that he’s been credited with some of the boost in Twitter’s user base. This correlation led Jennifer Van Grove of Mashable to speculate about a potential “Shaq effect” on 12seconds.tv. The same blogger mentioned (waaay) back in February that 12seconds.tv started offering closer integration with Twitter (via an app called TweetDeck), enabling users to easily “tweet” their 12 second videos. This could make 12seconds.tv a natural extension of Twitter for those whom plain text just isn’t enough – and I can at least see the novelty, possibly even genuine appeal.
So, why only 12 seconds? Here’s the explanation from the site:
“Because anything longer is boring. The scientists here at the 12seconds dodecaplex have conducted countless hours of research to determine the precise amount of time it takes for boredom or apathy to set in during typical Internet video viewing. Our patent pending Electro-Tear-Duct Prongers have determined that exactly 12 seconds of video is the ideal amount of time to keep anything interesting.”
Hmm. There’s a tad of sarcasm in that blurb, but maybe they actually did a little bit of research on the subject, and are just making light of it. I suppose time will tell. If 11seconds.tv or 13seconds.tv hits more of a chord with the users, then we’ll know.
[Thanks to Vitaly G. of Sputnik for telling me to check out 12seconds.tv this morning.]
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I think it has some great potential, sort of like youtube is to the blog in a way. I guess if someone wanted to get a bit more of their personality out there, or to make a richer message 12seconds.tv would certainly be a fast and (seemingly) effortless way to do it.
I tried it for the first time last night and could see so many possibilities, especially in the creation of identity.