Twitter growth vision have always included plans of hosting video capabilities, and this has now been almost confirmed with the new details that have emerged recently. One of the users, who keeps visiting the domain video.twitter.com has made these details public.
For advertisers initially
Very soon it will be possible for the users to publish clips in MP4 or MOV format using Twitter. These clips will have an aspect ratio of 16:9, and could be maximum 10 minutes long. The files will have no restrictions regarding their size, and at the same time the users will be able to customize the thumbnail representing the video (similar to YouTube).
As of now, the company plans of rolling out this feature only for the advertisers as evident from the language and tone used in the FAQ of Twitter Video. The move from the micro-blogging site is primarily aimed to encourage advertisers to move their business from the rivals to its own servers.
Information about such a feature being in the pipeline was always available from the executives, but Twitter did not give any official comment on this new service. “Aside from just watching video more easily on Twitter, you should be able to record, edit and share your own videos natively on Twitter too,” wrote VP of Product Kevin Weil in November. Weil informed that the feature is expected in the first half of next year.
Twitter eying video segment
YouTube, the video-streaming service from Google, is highly popular across the world and has more than a billion monthly visitors. Therefore, to reap benefits of this booming and profitable industry, Twitter too wants to join the league.
The news surely reflect the efforts from the social media giant to build its own inventory of videos, and make them more lucrative by displaying ads alongside. Such moves will help in the positioning of Twitter much more as a platform in its own right, along with keeping the maximum possible content on the site
News of a YouTube rival has come at a good time from Twitter as the latter has been struggling to bring in more viewers, and more premium advertisers. Twitter will be hoping that the new feature could help it in keeping users engaged on sites for longer, and thereby by bring in more advertising revenue.
