In the time it takes you to read this sentence, a star has already been born. A Vine star that is.

A subsidiary of Twitter, Vine, acts as a short-form video platform for its roughly 40 million users. The 6-7 second film sharing product was founded in June 2012 and it was acquired by the microblogging website Twitter in October 2012.

Something very interesting which highlights online media surpassing Television and Radio in audience coverage and influence is:

that the five most influential figures among American teens are all YouTube stars. A-list actors, models and musicians have been usurped by vlogging sensations

The Vine app, available on IOS and Android, is a scrolling feed, similar to that of Instagram. You also have your own profile page, which you can customise later after signing up. If you can muster up enough followers, there could be real potential for record contracts, advertisers, and branding deals. BCC estimates that Viners earn from advertisers in the ballpark of $1000 per 100,000 followers.

Personally, I’m not such a fan of the medium. I think that such a a small window of time restricts creativity and most of the Vines out there aren’t funny, just stupid. Yes that is a generalisation. But watch the compilation below and judge for yourself. Just note down how many you actually laugh at. The clip at 1.35 made me chuckle, I’ll admit, as well as 2.07. After those, once my viewing was interrupted by YouTube ads,  I got bored and left.

Although, for those who are able to benefit from the 7-second clips, well done to you!

This insight was thanks to the Guardian article.