We assumed that Facebook was planning on educating the press on Facebook’s take on a RSS reader when the company sent out cryptic letters. But rumor has it that whatever the social network is planning on unveiling may not even have all that much to do with Facebook in the first place. TechCrunch’s sources point out that there’s a possibility Facebook is about to reveal Instagram for video, as a sort of Vine competitor.
TechCrunch’s reports and sources might have some merit if an earlier report from a few weeks ago by a Matthew Keys turns out to be legitimate. Keys was tipped off by an insider, alleging that a team over at Instagram was working on annexing the photo sharing app with video. What Instagram purportedly has in mind, however, is like a Snapchat hybrid, where videos only last for a set amount of time.
Facebook has proven that the company is willing to build in-house competing, copycat apps. Examples include push-to-talk and stickers inside of Facebook’s standalone messaging app, Messenger, as well as the company’s answer to Snapchat that it calls Poke.
Despite having been around for just about six months, Vine has skyrocketed in popularity and usage. Vine even has a Tribeca Film Festival category devoted to it.
The Vine and Instagram sharing statistic by Topsy might be a bit ridiculous when you look at the facts. Vine is owned by Twitter, and Instagram has been sort of cut off – so the app’s dominance there isn’t all that surprising. If Instagram gets some video features, combined with the spotlight Facebook brings, we could have a little war on our hands.
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