Last week, Twitter announced that it was shutting down the short video sharing app, Vine. The app, having trouble monetizing, has become less important in the aspect of social media. After the news, the original creators of Vine, who sold the app to Twitter, have announced their next initiative, a livestreaming video service called Hype.
Livestreaming apps have become very common in the app industry, though, so what sets Hype apart from all the others and, most notably, Periscope?
Hype creators Colin Kroll and Rus Yusupov believe that Hype has more than enough features to set it apart. Hype takes the simplicity of Periscope and adds more features for users.
In Hype, the ability to incorporate other media into a user’s livestreams is offered. Now, any user can share photos, videos, and GIFs from their camera roll directly to their livestream. Also, they can play music from their iTunes library and add text, emojis and themed backgrounds.
Among all of the features is support for more interaction between hosts and viewers. Viewers can comment directly onto the stream, while also participating in polls and providing feedback when asked by the host. The host can even feature their favorite comments on the livestream itself. They also have more control over how their stream is presented. The hosts can change the size and layout of their image, choose to appear full-screen, tiny, or disappear in favor of other pieces of media.
“It’s great that they’re trying to make money another way, but I feel like they won’t be as successful,” said MHS sophomore Sergio Diaz.
Due to Periscope being integrated directly into Twitter and Facebook, it will most likely be hard for Hype to gain momentum, although it will not be impossible. Hype offers more customizable features that Periscope users have asked for.
“I think it sucks for the people working for Vine that it’s being shut down, but I’m glad they’re creating a new app that will help with the loss of jobs, so it’s not as much of an impact,” said MHS senior Lizzy Hershberger.
MHS junior Abbe Pannucci agreed with Hershberger.
“I think it’s great that they’re trying to redeem themselves,” said Pannucci.
The original creators of Vine have already found their next initiative and have it available on the App Store with the Android version coming soon.
