Image via Complex Original
The war between Facebook and Twitter continues to heat up, only this time, social media users are torn over which of the two's respective video-sharing services to jump (or remain) on: Instagram or Vine. We've already witnessed the former's billion-dollar rise to success as the most successful mobile and photo-sharing app ever created. Though it was just this past January when Twitter's video app hit the scene and took on the label as the new Instagram, drawing millions of users in less than a matter of six months: including some of our favorite celebs like Jimmy Fallon, Kate Upton, and soon-to-be Vine legend, Riff Raff.
However, what was once a simple choice between photo and video has now become a decision over what program does the latter best thanks impart to Instagram’s recent video-recording update. But before any of us can reach a verdict, let's look at both apps and single out each's performance strengths. So if you're still on the fence about joining one over the other, look over our Vine vs. Instagram Video breakdown and see which is better.
Video-Recording Length
The nine-second differential between the two platforms is huge. Vine gives users six seconds to work with, where as Instagram provides a recording time of 15 seconds, while granting the flexibility to capture even shorter clips at a minimum of three seconds. So you can either go below, higher, or record clips at the same max time limit as Vine. Unanimous decision? Pretty much.
Advantage: Instagram
Content Discovery
Pretty ironic to see a platform like Instagram more reliant on hashtags for searching purposes than a video service run by a social network that's cemented its legacy based on metadata tags. Vine has the better content discovery system, offering searchable categories and recently adding 15 content channels, along with the ability to share others videos through a new feature called "revining".
Advantage: Vine
Community Management
Instagram is extremely anal about publishing illicit imagery. In other words: porn. The service goes as far as banning users for even posting such visuals. Vine welcomes such content and manages it better by blocking specific tags and displaying an explicit content warning before viewing. So if you're about that perv life and strickly seek bare-naked selfies, the preferential choice seems obvious.
Advantage: Vine
Image Stabilization
Besides supporitng tap-to-focus technology, Instagram carries a new "Cinema" feature capable of rendering clips much smoother and eliminating any shakiness present. Vine...well...let's just say good posture and a smartphone tripod might be your best bet to capture crisp videos.
Advantage: Instagram
Creativity
John Lennon once said, "I'm an artist, and if you give me a tuba, I'll bring you something out of it." That's pretty much the same ideology most Vine users are strung with. Instagram might provide the more customized experience with longer recording modes and nostalgic filters, but Vine's ability to record six-second clips forces average Joes (and celebrities) to get a little creative, and in most cases, comedic. It also helps when those same exact videos play out like GIFs through the use of stop-live animation and endless looping.
Advantage: Vine
Editing
The fact that Instagram's integrated its universally popular filters system into its video-recording functionality, along with the option to (yes) delete clips gives the Facebook subsidiary a huge edge. Find yourself sharing an embarassing clip on Vine for the entire blogosphere to view—just go into exile.
Advantage: Instagram
Simplicity & Execution
Recording videos on Instagram is identically executed in the same manner as Vine, except it requires extra steps to publish it: switching to video, holding down the record button, accepting a filter, choosing a photo cover, and finally, sharing. Vine simplifies the process by allowing users to capture videos by pressing anywhere on the touchscreeen. Limiting footage to six seconds makes it quicker to record and share clips virally. In addition, Instagram's video service remains buggy and has some playback issues. Can't forget, embedding videos is much easier on Vine, too.
Advantage: Vine
Mobile Optimization
You can find both services available on Android and iOS, with respective features intact. Only difference is Vine's ecosystem makes it a little more difficult to search for peeps on the Android version. You'll be lucky enough to find familiar faces through other peoples Vine clips and tagging them from there.
Advantage: Instagram
Less-Diluted Experience
The notion of having a service that specializes in photo and video sounds great on paper. But it's all in the execution, and at the moment, Instagram's feed is one messy distraction. Instead of creating a separate feed to differentiate between the two platforms, we're stuck scrolling through an endless loop of pictures and videos. Vine's feed is much easier on the eyes and more manageable, as it only focuses on videos.
Advantage: Vine
Sharing Capabilities
Vine easily had the upper hand with its capability of embedding videos onto websites and blogs. That was until Instagram recently announced the same feature. Granted Vine embedding is simpler, Instagram carries the higher number of sharing resources and outlets (Facebook, Twitter, foursquare, and Tumblr), which it will continue to expand on in the next few months. Majority rules!
Advantage: Instagram
So Which is Better?
It's pretty difficult choosing a legit winner, especially when each program bears its fair share of imperfections. While Vine does a better job managing its community and offers a seamless video-recording experience, Instagram supports more artistic tools, is optimized better for mobile use, and has the larger subscriber base. It's also worth taking into account Vine's latest attempts to play catch-up with Instagram on the features front, whiich can easily be interpreted as Instagram being ahead of the curve. So with that being said, Instagram seems to be the safer gamble...for now.
