Home Google Glass: Twitter’s Vine Could Be The Killer App

Google Glass: Twitter’s Vine Could Be The Killer App

Twitter’s Vine could be the killer app for Google Glass. They (should) go together like strawberries and chocolate.

Yes, Google Glass needs a killer app. Beyond the breathless hype by white guys in Silicon Valley, what exactly is the mass market supposed to do with Google Glass? The most talked-about Glass uses, like augmented reality and instant data presentation, don’t have obvious appeal outside of the early adopter community. 

(See also 10 Compelling Ways People Plan To Use Google Glass.)

Vine on Glass, however, could be something almost everyone could get into. Vine on Glass would let all your followers – and potentially the whole world – see what you see, almost as soon as you see it, in an easily digestible form. While you could do much of this with a smartphone, when you see something you want to record, you need to pull out your phone and power up the video camera. Not so with Glass, which promises an almost frictionless experience. If you are wearing Glass, you could Vine, effortlessly.  

This has never been possible before. 

Making The Vine-On-Glass Match

The six-second limit on Vine videos also means that Glass wearers don’t need to constantly stream everything they see, allowing Glass users to maintain full control and ownership over what they record, and what they share. Six seconds is long enough to capture the moment – the feel of an event or experience – in a way that is powerful, easy to record and share, but not so long that viewers get bored or creeped out. And Vine videos don’t require the kind of editing and composition skills that it takes to make watchable longer form movies.

I suspect both Twitter and Google are already working on a partnership – though neither responded to my request for comment. Venture capitalist John Doerr has hinted that Twitter is already working on a Twitter – Glass app. First stop tweet, next stop picture, then… Vine: Hands-free, real-time, short videos, shot instantly with Glass, distributed instantly to the world via Twitter. And the companies are hardly strangers: Google used Twitter to help choose who would be first to own Glass with its #ifihadglass promotion.

Sure, Google would rather users share their videos on Google+. But Twitter has proven that no one does real-time sharing better, and the short, bursty Vine format combines the best of Twitter and Glass. 

How Would It Work?

Admittedly, there are some issues with creating Vine videos on Glass. Do you move your head? Stand still? How many taps to initiate recording and/or uploading? Based on the latest Project Glass “how to” video, however, even those minor barriers appear to be falling. 

Vine On Glass Use Cases

Unless and until we actually get Vine on Glass, we won’t know how the combo would be used. But here are some likely scenarios:

  • Ask your followers if the awesome shoes you are trying on are right for you.
  • Impress followers with your amazing view of the San Francisco skyline – or just tease them with what you see in real, physical space.
  • Show them how the guy three persons ahead of you in line is being a total jerk.
  • Let them cry with you as you hold your newborn for the first time, or coo with you when you take your new puppy home – all while your hands remain completely free and in the moment. 
  • You witness a traffic accident and immediately report all details, including video and audio of the aftermath. 
  • POV video from sports events – as a spectator or even a participant.

The Vines embedded below offer more examples of Vines that would work even better if they had been recorded with Google Glass instead of an iPhone:

Watch an artist at work – and see, just as he sees.

What journalists or first-responders might see.

Really real-time traffic video from highly specific locations.

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