Video Comes to Instagram

I just finished downloading the update of Instagram, the hugely popular photo sharing/social network app. The biggest update of course is video.  Users can now post 15 seconds of video to share among their friends.

 

It's so easy to use. Open the app then tap on the camera icon.  You will get to another screen with a video camera icon.  Tap on it and you're ready to go.  Press the record button and record anything you want: your new puppy running around the house, the kids playing basketball or even your partner cooking your favorite food. You don't have to shoot everything in one take. Lift your finger and the recorder automatically stops.

You don't need to worry about camera shake since Instagram incorporated an image stabilizer feature they named Cinema.  For now, it only works with iPhone 4s and higher.  Don't worry Android fans, it's coming to you soon.

 

Instagram also created 13 new filters exclusively for the video feature.  You can choose one of these filter and instantly preview its effect during play before sharing you post the video. Sound is instantly on and all posts are in square format, just like the photos.  Also when you post a video you can chose a scene as a “cover shot” which will be displayed while the rest of your video plays.

YouTube comes to the Philippines

It's not as if it is not available in the country yet but YouTube recently launched a localized version of the biggest online video sharing site here in the Philippines.  It is the first one in the Southeast Asia region.

The company noted that number of video uploads by Filipinos is one of the highest in the region.  A number of our countrymen have also been using YouTube to make a name for themselves across the globe. Charice was discovered through the site by Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey.  Rock band Journey chose Filipino singer-songwriter Arnel Pineda to be their new vocalist after seeing videos of him belting out their hits on YouTube. And of course, the well choreographed dance routines for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”  of the uniformed inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center made them popular the world over.

The localized service will also allow for monetization of video views in the Philippines. The YouTube Partner Program will enable regular video content creators in the country to become content partners with YouTube and monetize their work on the site through advertising.

I have posted several videos of my travels on YouTube although none has gone viral yet.  But who knows.