Vine is Twitter’s new iOS app. It’s also an app that’s taking the social media world by storm. Vine lets users create six-second videos and post those videos to the Vine app world or to Twitter. Why is Vine being toted as a game changer? For some, creating a simple video allows a bit of humanity to seep into the social media scene (life isn’t all print, after all). For others, creating six-second videos is just a whole lot of fun.

Is Vine the biggest thing since Twitter? I’m not so certain; but it is entertaining to watch what other people create. If you like to create video clips and enjoy things like animation, you will love Vine. Vine is a free app that is currently available through the Apple Store. Using Vine is simple enough to figure out, but, just in case, here’s a rundown of the app.

How to Use Vine

When you first download the Vine app, you will see a number of videos on the homepage. The showcased videos are Editor’s Picks. Stopping on any one video will instantly play the video (the load time is ridiculously fast!), and you can keep scrolling to see what people around the world have been creating. If you want to create your own video, this is simple enough too. All you have to do is click on the camera icon, hold your finger down on your screen, and record to your heart’s content. Every few seconds, stop the recorder and record something new. If you are clever enough, you can figure out how to record something like an animation short. If not, just take a video of someone you know acting crazy.

After playing around with Vine for a few minutes, I found the site to be entertaining. The user interface is also quite simple, which makes the whole app seem a lot more enjoyable. It is possible to tag videos and to search for videos using tags. You’ll find a lot of cooking videos that show different techniques and videos that people are using to teach others about a certain subject. I did find some flaws with Vine too.

A Few Flaws

The first flaw I discovered is that you can’t search for your friends using Vine. You can search for people, but you have to type in each person’s name individually. Vine doesn’t access your Facebook account (obviously) or contact list, so you’ll have to ask your friends if they are using the app or not. The second flaw I found is that there are a few minor glitches when using the app. But, these glitches are to be expected with an app that’s just a few days old!

Useful for Companies

Vine is a great app for local businesses to use too. If you have a product line that you’d like to showcase, you can take six-second videos of products. Then, tag those products accordingly, and you will gain some new followers. Since Vine does allow you to create a user profile, you can easily add your company name, URL, and other details. Just like Instagram, Vine is a great way to spread the word about your product or service. If you have an iPhone and you want to check out Vine (or any iOS product), go ahead and make a video. Vine is completely free and a lot of fun to use!