Vine is a new smartphone app with the potential to do for video what Instagram has done for photos. The videos are limited to 6 seconds. Not surprising then that the company was acquired by Twitter. The pair are well-matched. Vine is perfect for Twitter’s 140 character universe. There are several elements of connectivity between the two. You can post your videos to Twitter and also find and follow people from your Twitter network who have signed up for Vine.

This is an application in its infancy. It’s raw, quirky, lacks finesse and control and yet has considerable potential for marketing. Chris Brogan shared 11 Things A Business Could Do With the New Vine App. Good for a start but I think advertisers will also come up with interesting ways to use this technology. I was thinking about that when I created this one of my own.

This morning’s safe winter run courtesy of @yaktrax. 1st time. Loved them…& the brand name. vine.co/v/bXOL3neipLz

— Daryl Woods (@Daryl_Woods) February 28, 2013

Last week the weather here in Toronto kept alternating from rain to snow. The sidewalks were covered in snow that concealed a dangerous base of ice. I was about to cancel my morning run when I remembered I had purchased but never used a product called YakTrax. I won’t describe them. You can see them in the video (pause the video by clicking on it). I was really impressed with the product’s performance and was going to do what many consumers do—give YakTrax a positive review on social media. That’s when I thought of using Vine.

I loved the creative challenge. Six seconds to tell a product story and highlight the brand. My tracks in the snow show both the icy conditions and the imprint of my step with the product detail embedded. A shot of the branding on the product strap and one of my shoe sole that shows the product…done. I did 3 takes. It took about 10 minutes. Obviously if I was contracted to produce this I would strive for a little more polish but this was for experimentation.

Within the 6 seconds you’re allowed on Vine there are no restrictions for the number of scenes. You start shooting by touching your phone screen and stop by letting go. It can be one 6 second scene or a compilation of many stops and starts. I’ve seen some incredible animation. Creative possibilities are endless.

Vine is a free app currently available only on iTunes. Download it and have some fun as you learn to use it and imagine ways it can work for your business. Of course I’d be happy to help.