MMS vs 12seconds — videomail wars begin
AT&T supposedly turned on MMS service for iPhones today, enabling video message transmissions. If you’ve got an iPhone with an unlimited data plan, though, there are already apps that remove the need for MMS. 12seconds’ 12mail is my favorite because of its Twitter-like hook: Instead of 140 characters, you get 12 seconds of video limit.
Why 12 seconds? Co-founder Sol Lipman says they started with 10 seconds, but it was always a couple of seconds too short…. Continue Reading
Video sites race to win Twitter users
Have you created an account on a video sharing site yet? Don’t bother. Popular sites including twitvid.io and 12seconds.tv are dropping their signup requirements. Instead, they’ll let you login with a Twitter username and password.
12seconds founder Sol Lipman explained in a video posted this morning how the site’s new strategy works: Twitter users login with their Twitter username. 12seconds creates a member account for them. They can then post video clips up to twelve seconds… Continue Reading
12seconds crowd-sources commercials for a business model on top of Twitter
While Twitter itself may not have a final business model yet, the hot thing these days is for third-parties to use the service to create their own business models. Short-form video startup 12seconds is the latest to do this, rolling its users’ likelihood of tweeting their videos into some corporate sponsorships.
Specifically, 12seconds is launching a new type of product called “12omercials.” These are essentially regular 12seconds video posts focused on specific products or causes. The… Continue Reading
FriendFeed says ‘SUP to some new services
We first wrote about FriendFeed working a new Really Simple Syndication (RSS) supplement that it was calling Simple Update Protocol (SUP) earlier this year. The idea was to speed up the way new content is pulled into the social aggregator. Today, FriendFeed has announced several updates to its SUP support.
Services now using SUP on FriendFeed include Disqus, Brightkite, Identi.ca, BackType and 12seconds. “Whenever one of these feeds is updated, the new entry appears on FriendFeed… Continue Reading
12seconds prods the iPhone with a non-video video app
Up there on the list of complaints about the iPhone is that its camera doesn’t support video capture. Well, it can (more on that later), but Apple won’t turn it on or allow any applications in the App Store that use the camera for video. That’s a problem for a startup like 12seconds, an online video application. So it came up with a new way to post to 12seconds with its iPhone app.
The app, which… Continue Reading
Roundup: Another record for cleantech, economy contracting, music news and more
Here’s the latest action:
Cleantech has another record quarter — A total of $1.6 billion went into cleantech during the most recent quarter. However, much of the money came in a few massive later-stage rounds, so the sector shouldn’t breathe easy in the face of recession.
US economy contracts most in seven years — Analysts expect a massive 2.5 percent drop in GDP growth next year. More detail at Reuters.
MTV exec may head MySpace Music — MTV vice president Courtney… Continue Reading
12seconds wants everyone to talk like a pirate; more invites for all
In case you forgot, it’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day today — a day when a lot of websites and online networks get into the pirate spirit (check out Google Pirate). Recently launched 12seconds, a video website that limits all video posts to 12 seconds, is taking the opportunity to bring some extra attention to its service, still in private alpha.
12seconds is granting everyone access to its services for just one day. Any visitors… Continue Reading
12seconds extends its 15 minutes of fame with an API
12seconds has a goal: It wants to be the go-to platform for video status updates. In order to make a good platform, you need a good application programming interface (API). Today, 12seconds is launching that API and announcing its first three partners.
TweetDeck, an Adobe Air client for services including Twitter, Blippr, a site that does short-form reviews, and Phreadz, a startup that does threaded video conversations, are the first three partners to use the 12seconds… Continue Reading
SoCal earthquake a powerful reminder of Twitter’s potential
This morning a 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck Southern California near Los Angeles. Well before the information was anywhere on the major news outlets, tweets (Twitter messages) were flowing in at a rapid clip. I say again, events such as this showcase the power of the micro-messaging service Twitter.
When natural disasters strike, people want news ASAP. Twitter is simply very fast at disseminating information. We saw this when a large 7.8 earthquake struck China back in… Continue Reading
12seconds enters alpha testing for its video status service
A month ago we wrote about 12seconds, a company that truly aims to be the “Twitter of video.” That is, it wants to be the goto site for video status updates. Now you can actually try it.
The service is entering its public alpha testing phase today. It’s still invitation-only for the time being, but now anyone can request an invite. (See the bottom of the post for a special offer for VentureBeat readers.) With the… Continue Reading
12seconds aims to be the true Twitter of video
When online video messaging service Seesmic first emerged last year it was dubbed by many (including us) as the “Twitter of video.” It’s an easy comparison to make, both are micro-messaging services of sorts. However it’s obvious that Seesmic is much more time-consuming than Twitter. Seesmic videos can be several minutes long. That’s an eternity in a Twitter world limited to 140 characters or less. A new video messaging service called 12seconds aims to fix… Continue Reading