I have been hearing about a website called 12seconds.tv for some time. I’d seem a few videos Tweeted and had read about in on TechCrunch twice yet had not acted on the opportunity. Needless to say today I joined and I am already liking both the concept and the opportunities it could provide.

SHAMELESS PLUG: You will find me at http://www.12seconds.tv/channel/AlexBlom

For those who don’t know, 12seconds works a lot like Twitter (infact, you can link it with Twitter if you wish). However, instead of posting a text update you post a 12 second video of yourself.

Why do I like this concept?

Well, there are a few reasons. My first thought was ‘oh great – how can a spammer POSSIBLY catch me here?’ Sending fake / automated tweets is easy; but a video still requires your face. The mechanism is much more personal – when I have something meaningful to post I can record it and let people see me. Can you imagine the benefits for this, especially with brand relations or PR disasters (think Amazon’s #failwhale)? So much is lost in translation with words, now people can see my expressions, hear my voice and really receive the entire message.

Some shortcomings

Of course there are plenty of reasons this service may remain in obscurity. When I tweeted my first video I received a reply ‘good first video ! – i have yet to be so brave’. I was fairly cautious about posting videos – it really feels to be invading a layer or privacy I have previously not uncovered online. I’m fairly certain many others feel the same. In addition to this, I can read a Tweet instantly and quickly; it is just text. A video takes time to load (but on the flipside, if I am viewing it you have my full attention).

The one thing I wondered is ‘why not just use YouTube’. The Answer? A different community. The biggest advantage to any social media site is interacting with the community and 12seconds is another avenue to reach different groups with short, targeted messages.

Overall, I think the concept is good and the website works well. No doubt we will get some corporate morons posting blatant ads to say they have used that ‘darn social media’ in their marketing campaigns instead of really fostering relations; but they will fail, just as they have with Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and everything else they tried.  I don’t see 12seconds.tv as being a competitor to Twitter but rather a complementary service. I post many Tweets a day; and while this often builds relationships it is certainly not meaningful enough to record a video about! Wheras I will continue using Twitter for my rapid fire updates and communications, 12 seconds can be used to emphasize and promote my more meaningful tweets / comments.

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