As per a report from the Pew Internet Project more than 50% of people in the US own a smartphone, indicating that this device may become the primary web access platform in 2013. The Flurry analytics mentioned that the fastest growing app categories are photo and video sharing (89%, in minutes spent per active user). It says that mobile video app consumption is increased by 52% and online video consumption is plunged by 10%.
A Smartphone is not only bought for making and receiving calls; it is being utilized for everything from surfing the web to downloading videos. People are spending their maximum time using smartphones and the day will dawn soon when they start using their mobile applications in place of websites for everything they do online.
Daily habit of watching videos:
Almost half of the time after six in the evening is being spent watching online videos. People who travel long distances to commute usually watch videos on their phone sitting in their cabs, trains or while flying back to their home. After analyzing this habit of watching videos by a layman almost everyday, Internet marketers have come to a conclusion that video sharing is the best online promotion platform for the brands as well as small entrepreneurs. Organizations are gradually switching to digital marketing, to thrive online; video sharing being the most effective tool to market products and services.
Video Sharing apps gaining popularity:
Thwapr Mobile Video Sharing App
Video sharing apps like Thwapr, Viddy, Magisto and SocialCam gained popularity as these apps have video editing and mass sharing capabilities. Video sharing has led to the growth of a variety of mobile applications. These video sharing apps not only help you capture a video but let you edit and share great video content among friends, all from your phone, without touching a computer. Mobile video app consumption has surpassed Internet video consumption. These apps are user-friendly and make the process of sharing custom videos hassle-free, as most of them come with inbuilt tools for editing and adding special effects to the videos.
Latest buzz in the video sharing world:
Silicon Valley News.Net quoted, “ Viddy, a video-sharing mobile app, may be experiencing an 11 million rise in users because of high-profile Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg joining the service”. Zuckerberg had uploaded the video of his dog using this app a few days back. The fact that this video sharing app is adding 1 million users a day indicates that it has gained popularity over the photo-centric features of Instagram.
Video sharing apps- A threat to YouTube’s dominance:
These popular video sharing apps are almost on the verge of cannibalizing video sharing platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. Thwapr, a video monetizing platform, recently got an offer of partnering with MSG Varsity to provide mobile video services for its video content. The brand chose Thwapr’s SMS video subscription model to provide its fans with high quality content on a regular basis. Thwapr’s ‘Share to Phone’ button is being used by many websites, so that the browsers may share the videos on their phone or to any phone, without much hassle.
Video sharing websites are becoming obsolete, as people are using smartphones to access the web. Though Youtube is not in anyway intimidated by this increased usage of mobile devices to watch videos, but we can not deny the fact that video sharing apps are the talk of the town. Is this a real transitional phase for the web from social media to mobile apps or just a hearsay?
Image Credit : BusinessInsider
