5 million Instagram videos were shared in the first 24 hours

By Francis Bea June 21, 2013

According to Instagram reps, the first day was a success: CNET says that app is claiming 5 million videos have been uploaded within the first 24 hours.

Vine teased new features fewer than 24 hours before Instagram video’s launch, but even Vine’s hype did little to stop users from getting business with video for Instagram. During the peak time of new videos uploaded by users after the announcement, up to 40 hours of video were uploaded per minute. Some of its success has to do with Instagram’s well-chosen timing for its announcement: The same day, the Miami Heat took on the San Antonio Spurs for the NBA Championship title, which apparently fueled the flurry of new videos shared within the 24 hours, says the Instagram rep.

If you’re still not familiar with the platform, the one major difference between Vine and Instagram is the ability to add 13 different video filters using the latter. Vine is filter-less and probably will stay that way. Instagram does also include a brand new technology called “Cinema,” which offers image stabilization for those of us with shaky hands. Users can delete individual clips in a video, granted the clip wasn’t shot in one take. Other than those two distinguishing features, the last major difference is the recording time – 15 seconds on Instagram and just 6 seconds on Vine.

While video for Instagram may be reacting to what Vine started with bite-sized, clip-friendly videos, it’s obvious that the established community Instagram has is aiding the launch of the new service. Motivations be damned, the photo-sharing app could have a winner on its hands. Of course, we’ve yet to see the teased features Vine started yesterday off with, so perhaps the Twitter-owned platform has something up its sleeve that could heighten the competition.

Let the battles begin.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Francis got his first taste of the tech industry in a failed attempt at a startup during his time as a student at the…

Social Media

Bluesky barrels toward 1 million new sign-ups in a day

Social media app Bluesky has picked nearly a million new users just a day after exiting its invitation-only beta and opening to everyone.

In a post on its main rival -- X (formerly Twitter) -- Bluesky shared a chart showing a sudden boost in usage on the app, which can now be downloaded for free for iPhone and Android devices.

Computing

How to make a GIF from a YouTube video

woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Social Media

I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.