Loading...YouTube has long been the king of online video content and the social networks have worked hard to ensure that they integrate seamlessly with it. Apple even made it a standard feature of its iPhone so any video can be uploaded easily. Some however, find the process slow and tedious and coupled with the fact you can only message a friend the link once uploaded makes sharing it a long process.
Recently, the smartphone App Instagram took photo sharing to a new level. Available on both iphone and android devices the App uses a selection of professional filters and easy social sharing options to allow users to take, edit and share photos with friends, family and fans. Last month Instagram passed over 50 million users and was recently acquired by Facebook.
Social Cam and Viddy have been coined the Instagram of video sharing, and are currently battling for supremacy to be the de facto application for uploading and sharing your videos. Viddy certainly looks very similar to Instagram and its slick interface is easy to use and like Instagram shows your followers and people you follow. As soon as the App opens you are prompted to connect it to your Facebook account and given multiple sharing options in order to manage exactly what you are comfortable sharing on your social networks. Functionally the camera options allow you to lock focus, exposure and white balance during the shooting process and once saved you can trim your selection, add a filter and select from a range of soundtracks. Sadly videos are limited to only 15 seconds which really limits what you can post but despite this, the App has a huge following and should this limit be lifted will be a force to be reckoned with. This app is currently only available for iPhone but an Android version has been hinted at.
Social Cam looks to have the instant advantage in that there is no limit to the video length and it posts to additional places including Posterous and Dropbox. It does, however, lack the slick interface of Viddy and does take some getting used to. Its main difference is the application of filters directly as you film clips. By swiping across the screen users can switch between filters and see the results live.
Although YouTube already has an App of its own, the parent company Google will be watching these two Apps very closely in the coming months. What these Apps offer over the current YouTube app is simplicity and the ability to share faster and easier. Between the two Apps they have a userbase of 60 million and rising so which one will you use?