How about 12 seconds? Local social networking website takes Facebook one click further
Seconds don’t mean much unless you’re Michael Phelps, where even 1/100th of a second may mean Olympic Gold. But to Santa Cruz techies David Beach and Sol Lipman, a second, or shall we say “12 Seconds,” may mean a new way to network. Their aptly named social networking site 12 Seconds, which launched just five weeks ago, is just that—a network comprised solely of user-generated 12-second videos.David Beach, a long-time Santa Cruz resident and senior manager at Yahoo! came up with the original idea. He wanted a way for friends and family to record and share short video updates about anything, a different avenue than traditional social networks like Facebook and Myspace have taken. Seizing the momentum provided by a huge tech movement unfolding in Santa Cruz, Beach collaborated with Sol Lipman, among many local tech enthusiasts and the web development firm, Quiddities. Beach envisioned 12 Seconds as the first in what he hopes will be a resurgence of Internet start-ups in Santa Cruz. “I’ve always had the desire to work here again,” he says. “We hope to set an example for the industry by taking advantage of the environment, culture and creativity that is Santa Cruz.” More than 20,000 people in the immediate and surrounding area who commute over the hill each day to jobs at Google, Yahoo! and Intel to name a few, it’s no wonder Santa Cruz residents are taking the initiative to experience life locally, from purchasing groceries to working their jobs. “It’s something we feel strongly about,” says Beach. “We hope this will open eyes to what is really possible in Santa Cruz.” Launched only a few weeks ago, 12 Seconds is certain to find its niche in our increasingly visual, fast paced, need-to-know-right-now society. “12 Seconds is all about sharing moments,” Beach explains. “If you have a Flickr account you can take a photo and immediately upload it to Flickr, if you have a Twitter account you can text your update where everyone can see it immediately. 12 Seconds does the same thing, but with video.” Beach and Lipman believe that video, as a rule, is much more engaging, especially to many teenage and college age students. Lipman jokes, “Would you rather read, ‘I’m eating a burrito,’ or watch someone eat an overstuffed, deliciously tasty burrito?” With that kind of imagery it’s no wonder a vast majority of us would probably prefer the latter, more salivating option. Despite the hype, 12 Seconds is surprisingly simple to use. Once invited to create an account, each user receives an e-mail address specifically designed solely for uploading video to their profile, what Beach and Lipman call “channels.” Using either a webcam or camera phone, users film a video and e-mail it to their channel. And don’t worry about timing your video “to a T”—12 Seconds will automatically edit it for you before making it available for others to view. The technology may be daunting to some, but taking into account that essentially every new laptop and cellular device now has video capability, 12 Seconds is very accessible. “It might not be obvious to everyone, but millions of people have this technology in their pocket,” Lipman says. “We’re making it really easy to use that technology in a creative way.” Beach and Lipman expect 12 Seconds to take on a life of its own. “All of a sudden people are going to start using this site for things we never even imagined they could,” says Beach. Already 12 Seconds’ users have found ingenious ways to work with a few, paltry seconds. For example, users are making short films, giving ukulele lessons, explaining the Communist Manifesto, and exploring sustainable agriculture—all in 12 second snippets. However, a burning question remains: Why did its developers designate only 12, finite seconds? “Well 12 is better than 11,” quips Beach. “But there’s obviously no scientific reason.” Beach and Lipman justify their 12-second decision by comparing it to other sites like the ever popular YouTube, which allows anyone with a computer and the Internet access to millions of video clips. 12 Seconds is a bit more exclusive, which Beach and Lipman say make it more personal. Since you have to be invited to the site by friends, it’s easy to establish an intimate circle of friends and followers. “It’s cool to see how people come together when there are faces and voices involved,” says Beach. And according to Lipman, many on-edge users find the 12-second limit liberating. “Anything is interesting for 12 seconds,” he says. “We believe this constraint frees people up to film anything they want.” And really, there isn’t a whole lot of time to agonize over the content of your video. And that’s precisely the point. “We want people to use 12 Seconds all day, every day,” says Lipman. “We want you to be at a party and think, ‘Dude, that’s so funny—I’ve got to ‘12’ it.’” Their vision may become the photo album of the future, conveniently archiving images that walk and talk. Despite its feel and outward appearance, Lipman says that 12 Seconds was not really intended to be a social network, at least in the traditional sense. “The future of social networking is in applications like 12 Seconds,” Lipman adds. “I believe social networking profiles will become more of an archive, and activity applications will move to the forefront.” While they only speculate about the future of social networking, the pair has some definitive plans for the future of 12 Seconds. They envision adding to their site in myriad ways including further simplification, if you can imagine that. Beach and Lipman say, in confident synchronization, “We’re going to own the short-form video space and now is a great time to do it.” Visit 12seconds.tv .
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