Yahoo Finance Snapchat turns streaming video on its head…literally
Streaming video may never look the same.
Snapchat is now offering users of its app music videos in a vertical format-- designed to be viewed up and down, as you would on a smartphone.
The first tunes-- from the electronic musician “Goldroom”-- are part of the private firm’s “Discover” media service launched at the end of January (Yahoo News is also a part of the program). And like Snapchat photos, the music videos eventually disappear.
Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Michael Santoli feels that’s a big selling point.
“People are incredibly excited about Snapchat as a potential content format for a very specific reason, which is it inherently creates a sense of urgency,” he notes. “The content is going to disappear.”
Yahoo Finance’s Lauren Lyster certainly finds that idea pleasing.
“In TV years ago if you messed up it was ‘video vapor,’ because it was on TV and then it was gone,” she explains. “That doesn’t exist anymore, everything is on the internet. So it’s nice to have one medium where the video goes away.”
Santoli adds another factor is at play that benefits Snapchat.
“There’s also psychological element to it,” he explains. “You typically have to hold the button down to see the content. And only as long as you hold it down do you see whatever is there. So there’s sort of a game aspect to it.”
Yahoo Finance’s Aaron Task says advertisers love that.
“You’re making a real motion, they know you really want to watch if you have to hold your thumb down,” he points out.
(Note: Users do not have to hold down the button to watch the new Snapchat music videos)
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Task calls what Snapchat is doing a real breakthrough.
“All video is shot horizontally, but if people are watching it vertically, there’s going to be more and stuff made in this vertical way,” he argues. “That’s what Periscope (TWTR) is all about.”
Task also wonders how far this will go.
“Are films going to be made in a vertical way,” he asks. “Because this is how people are consuming more and more of their content.”
Task adds for younger people, vertical viewing is the norm.
“This is going to be an improvement for them,” he says. “They’re going to think it looks better than some video that was shot to be viewed horizontally instead of vertically. This could be a huge leap forward. It sounds silly but this could be a big deal.”
And offering vertical versus horizontal viewing plays right into a key demographic.
“Millennials don’t turn their phones,” he notes.
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