From an original post by MartinSFP @ 14Sandwhiches.com;

A few months ago something new happened in my Twitter feed; people started posting links to videos they had created on a service called 12seconds.tv. Intruiged, I looked into the service and sure enough it allows you to upload videos that last just 12 seconds and not a frame more.

Puzzled as to the appeal of the concept I signed up and then forgot about it entirely. After all, what can you possibly communicate in 12 seconds? Not a lot - it’s barely enough time to say hello!

Then, about a month ago, I finally ‘got’ 12seconds. The truth is, when you think about it, you really can say a lot in that short amount of time. The very fact that you have such a small window means that every breath, every sylable you utter, needs to count or you’ll be out of time. That means there’s no room for rambling. It’s straight to the point or bust.

In 12 seconds you can tell a joke, you can make an observation about life, share a bizarre moment or ask a question for others to answer. You can even use it for something more creative like short pieces of video art.

Here’s some of my favourite 12seconds videos, demonstrating the diverse ways people are using the service.

1. As a video diary

Video diarists have a tendency to ramble. There’s no way you can do that on 12seconds! Christian Payne, AKA Documentally, frequently uses the service to post glimses into his life.

Three books in the post. on 12seconds.tv

2. To quickly share something unusual.

I mentioned him the other day and here he is again: Geoffrey Hickman sharing some bizarre bathroom tiles he’s found.

strangest bathroom tiles i’ve ever seen on 12seconds.tv

3. To express creativity

Who says you need a video camera? Some users use 12seconds to share their own home-made animation:

12seconds starwars animation on 12seconds.tv

4. To play games

Sadly this user appears to have stopped the game now, but it his ‘Name That Tune’ game was fun while it lasted:

Name That Tune 14 on 12seconds.tv

5. As a challenge

If one thing keeps me coming back to 12seconds, it’s the daily challenges. I was lucky enough to win one of these a couple of weeks ago. There’s no prize, just a link to your profile from every page on the site for a day and a nice feeling of warmth. The challenge I won was to suggest some new ‘Awards’ for 12seconds videos. Users receive little icons on their profile when they achieve certain tasks such as posting their first 12 videos or winning a challenge. I don’t think my suggestion will be taken up any time soon but it’s nice to win!

12challenge: Please suggest some new 12seconds awards (those picked will get credit on the awards page). on 12seconds.tv

You can find my 12seconds profile here. If you want to give the service a go let me know. It’s still in closed Alpha but I have a few invites left so leave a comment if you’d like an invite to try it.

Tags: 12Seconds.tv, video, social media, communication,