We're on to Thing 14! But first-updates! I got an email the other day informing me that Springpad (used way back in Thing 5-Notetaking) is shutting down! I'm kind of bummed, as I had actually used that app several times after my report on Thing 5 wrapped up. They are offering export of data to Evernote though, so they aren't leaving users hanging.
Now-to the task at hand-Videos! I downloaded and used Vine and Magisto (both available for Apple and Android) for this thing. I had heard a lot about, and seen a few Vines prior to this thing, but had never seen or heard of Magisto.
Vine, like most apps, required an account for use. The purpose here is to create videos up to six seconds long. Six seconds sounds too short for just about anything, but honestly it seemed like an appropriate length once I got started. With the digital world and the immediacy of information, it seems our attention spans keep shrinking. I rarely just watch TV anymore, with undivided attention. Instead, I am reading on commercial breaks, playing games on my phone during the show, surfing the internet and catching up on email, playing with the dog-you name it. I just don't have the attention span to devote myself to TV, and nothing else. Vine, then, is genius because it only requires your attention in up to six second spans! Its perfect! If a picture says 1,000 words, a Vine can say so much more, without boring people like a longer YouTube video might! I can definitely see this app being great for libraries-it could be a great marketing tool (I'm picturing Vines posted to the library's Facebook, and think that would go over well!). Overall the was very easy to use. It could have been my internet connection, but I was sort of surprised that my short videos took several minutes to upload. One other thing I really enjoyed was scrolling through the video feed of popular Vines-not only were they entertaining, but it was great to see all the ways Vine can be used!
Magisto is more of a movie making too than a video taking tool, if that makes sense. It takes video clips and photos right from your own photo stream on your device and turns them into a movie (or perhaps I should say a "movie," as it isn't really a movie, but more of a video presentation). Magisto actually has an option to create an account or try it out as a guest, which is nice. Once you've chosen your login method, there is a four-screen slide show that describes some of the features. Then, as you begin to create your first movie, pop-ups guide you through each step. First, you choose your videos and photos (up to 10 in the free version), then your theme (there are 16, ranging from 'Summer' [bright and cheery with uptempo songs] to 'Country' [sepia and faded, with country songs]). You can also choose to add a song from your own library, which is awesome. Then, when you're set, you submit your movie for compiling. Mine took less than five minutes and was then ready to view and share. One major gripe, and a reason why I probably wouldn't use this app professionally, is that I used one video and 9 pictures in my movie, but it spliced up the video and put a clip there, then some pictures, then a clip there, and so on, in a random order that I couldn't choose. If I were going to use this professionally, I'd want to design that myself, not leave it up to fate. Beside that, it was a super easy to use app and has the added bonus in that you can control who sees the video-just you, everyone, certain people, etc. I'll definitely keep using it for my personal stuff, as it was fun and easy to use, but don't think I'd use it (at least not the free version) professionally.
That's all for videos, but stay tuned! I'll be posting about infographics shortly!!
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