12seconds, a service that lets users tell others what they're up to in 12-second videos, announced Thursday that it has launched a new service called, 12omercial. The company hopes the service will become the "tweetable video commercial." Brand sponsors and companies will be asking users to create 12omercials on their behalf. Those who record the best video will receive "12 seconds of fame to goods and other prizes, as determined by the sponsor." All the videos can be added to Twitter, uploaded to Facebook, or embedded into a blog.
So far, 12seconds has signed on two sponsors--LG and Xobni. LG's sponsorship will go live with the launch of the site. The company is asking users to talk about the "things they do with their phones that they probably shouldn't be doing" to promote the company's new device, the Versa. The Xobni sponsorship will start next week.
TunesBag, a site that lets users upload music files and stream those over the Web, announced Thursday that it has launched an Adobe AIR application for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The app allows users to buy tracks through Amazon and iTunes and share those songs with friends on social networks. Any songs on the user's computer can also be added to the library and played either on the desktop or through the company's online app. The TunesBag desktop app is free to download.
WatchMojo, a site that provides professionally-produced instructional videos, announced Thursday that it has hosted more than 50 million video views since its launch. According to the company, its growth has doubled in the past few months and its production costs have remained relatively stable. It expects that dynamic to continue going forward.
Business domain marketplace BuyDomains launched the company's first domain name referral program Thursday. Dubbed the BuyDomains Referral Program, the service will allow users to earn money by selling domains from the NameMedia domain portfolio, as well as sites owned by individual domain investors. Those who sign up for the program will download a configurable widget that provides consumers with access to the company's inventory of domain names. The program is live now.
"But the shortest works are always the best," wrote the French poet, and video sharing start-up 12seconds is counting on that being true. The simple site, which launches an invitation-only alpha today (500 invites for Webware readers at the end of this post), places a 12-second limit on the videos its users can share.
Twelve seconds. Less than a quarter of a minute. It's enough to make Flickr's much-derided 90-second clips look like Lawrence of Arabia.
And that's the point, according to the 12seconds team, all of whom are working on the site as a side project. The idea is to keep the focus on status updates, letting users share--via video--what they're doing in a single moment. (The phrase "video Twitter" feels overused, but it wouldn't be inaccurate.) The time limit is also just the kind of restriction that frees people to be creative; on a quick cruise through the videos posted so far I saw plenty of people talking to their Webcams, but I also found some underwater advertising, a request for math help, and an experimental film.
The time limit also distinguishes 12seconds from Seesmic, which allows lengthier clips and has many more features for creating synchronous video conversations.
The simple concept of 12seconds is backed up by a simple interface: once you sign up you can begin capturing video directly from your computer's Webcam. You're also given a dedicated e-mail address to which you can send video from your phone or desktop. You can name and tag videos as well as share the location where the clip was shot; the site provides a permalink and code so you can embed videos elsewhere. (My captivating test footage is embedded at the bottom of this post.) Like Flickr, other users can comment below your videos; like Twitter, you can "follow" other users.
The site is still in alpha, so more features could appear before its official launch. And of course there's the question of how this will make any money. But 12seconds' David Speiser tells me company is committed to both simplicity and brevity going forward, and that a business model is in the works (though he's not sharing specifics).
Meanwhile, 12seconds will likely remain a quirky little corner of the Web. If you're eager to join in, the company has provided invitations for the first 500 Webware readers to leave their name and address at this page.
Catch of the day on 12seconds.tv
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