So it seems there is another new kid on the block looking to steal a march on the social media market. As if we could go a week without a new one hey?
This time the kid in question is named Viddy – you have probably seen them popping up on your Facebook timeline with various tempting videos your chums have been watching, such as “Man is mauled by a great white “. The ones you really want to watch, but were not quite sure you could handle having posted in your own timeline, less folk judge you as a result. Nor, I am guessing, could you handle yet another addition to the list of the things you need to remember to press on your mobile phone when capturing one of life’s special little moments.
So what is it, and should you get involved? We have put together a quick rundown of the app and it’s features so you are in a position to make an informed choice.
In essence Viddy is a fairly simple mash up of you tube and Instagram. Put simply it allows you to take videos, pop on a few “kooky” effects, then send it out to the world to share though your network of followers, then post to twitter, Tumbler, YouTube and Facebook direct from the ap. So nothing really new there, and fans of Instagram will now doubt be looking at the new ap with a furrowed brow thinking “seriously – you have just taken the Instagram filters and shoved them on some 15 second limited videos to share?” And yes – that is pretty much what they have done…
The interface the ap uses is actually pretty cool and one of the slickest pieces of visual design I have seen in an ap. However whilst it’s pleasing to view, it does fall down a little on usability. Adding music to you clip was clunky and I’m not sure where the answer lies to the issues with use of music without permissions.
Sharing the videos themselves is an easy process and once configured you can share to all the major networks quickly and easily just by posting your vid and selecting the correct option. Elsewhere on the site the interface it a little trickier. Icons are small and it is not immediately obvious what they do on first use, until you have clicked on them. However it’s not terrible.
So who’s using it and should you be interested? It is becoming more and more popular, however users should be warned the content is not always vetted as closely as content from YouTube. At present browsing random feeds for content is not for the feint harted. You should prepare yourself for the onslaught of sexual deviance that may well come your way if you aren’t very selective. At the end of the day, porn is still porn, even it it does have a “retro” filter on it! But I digress. The site is growing in popularity, and no doubt we will be hearing it has the statutory 11 billion users next week, but that doesn’t answer the question should you be one of them.
My problem with viddy is I don’t really see anything new or unique here. They have essentially taken the option to share video that was popularized by YouTube, and popped filters on it, which to be honest are not very impressive. If you want a video editing application there are many more comprehensive options out there, and if you are looking for fun video content this certainly doesn’t beat the wealth of sharing sites already out there.
My verdict. This is one best left for now – unless they make some considerable improvements – and they somehow find a way of a cat farting and hiccuping at the same time being more funny than it already was on YouTube.
