One to Watch: 12seconds
This week we learned of the existence of 12seconds, a startup that isn’t afraid to call itself a “video Twitter.” The idea is simple: video status updates. From the about page: “Why only 12 seconds? Because anything longer is boring.”
The site is a side project of founder David Beach and some other “nerds mostly from Santa Cruz.” Beach works at Yahoo and recently transferred from its Brickhouse incubator to Yahoo Travel. But he seems to be getting serious about 12seconds, as our request for more information was replied to by a PR firm.
12seconds is in private alpha, but a fair amount of it is open to the public if you just want to check it out.
Another startup, Seesmic, has often been called a ‘video Twitter,’ but insists that it’s oh so much more — and it has recently diversified into video comments and video shows.
Welcome to 12seconds on 12seconds.tv
Above is an intro video from Beach we found on 12seconds, and below is some more explanation from the company blog:
Why 12 seconds?
There is no particular reason why it’s 12 seconds and not 10 or 15. 12 is a good number. We like 12. But the main idea here is to keep things quick. To keep things pithy. You can sing “Happy Birthday” in 12 seconds, you can share moments of your vacation in 12 seconds. You can show people where you are or tell them what you’re up to in 12 seconds. If you need more time, record another one. Be creative; we think you’ll find that 12 seconds is plenty of time.
Comments (4)
Linkbacks (7)
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[...] site with a twelve-second length restriction. Yes, it’s video Twitter, and they’re not ashamed to call themselves [...]
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[...] site is a side project by Yahoo employee David Beach, according to NewTeeVee, which stumbled upon the site earlier [...]
12seconds aims to be the true Twitter of…
— 9:00 PM on June 26, 2008
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[...] weblog NewTeeVee maakte me vanochtend attent op een nieuwe kandidaat voor het predikaat “video-Twitter”: [...]
12seconds wil de echte video-Twitter worden…
— 5:46 AM on June 27, 2008
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[...] service being unique in its own way claims that they have chosen number “12” rather then any other number because 12seconds is an enough time to record some really creative and [...]
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[...] Via NewTeeVee [...]
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[...] “Video Twittering” site 12seconds.tv is offering special pirate prizes to those who vlog it up accordingly. [...]
Talk Like a Pirate Day: Your Handy Guide…
— 12:01 PM on September 19, 2008
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[...] updates, usually from webcams, with a time limit of, yes, 12 seconds. 12seconds — which we broke the story on here at NewTeeVee — aims to be a video version of Twitter, and indeed in its less than a year [...]
12seconds Makes UGC Commercials for Twitter…
— 8:20 AM on April 9, 2009
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When I first read this I laughed and thought of “12 second abs” but then realized that the target audience would be bored of physically exerting itself after 12 seconds. OK I jest, but this article came with an explanation that was eerily like a late night infomercial for some new fangled workout.
What else can be done in <12 seconds?
Competitions baby. I can see it now…
*Who can put down the most redbull in <12sec.
*Who can get themselves off in <12sec.
*Who can coherently pitch their startup in <12sec.
*Who can…
You get the idea and when I see that happen on this site you’ll know where the idea came from.
Cool idea, though I admittedly never understood the idea of Twitter. Maybe I need to actually sign up and figure out why people are so addicted.
I prefer Twitter to any of this multimedia based ones be it video or if someone comes with audio twitter.
I like it because its SIMPLE(nothing can be simpler that that)
This is really a good idea. We have thought exactly the same a year ago, we created spOtmob. It is online, check it and try it!
http://www.spotmob.com
…and your life?