Short attention span or efficient communication?
We’re terribly sorry Andy, but we’ll need to subtract 14:48 from your estimate.
12seconds.tv is exactly as the name implies. It’s a video site where every uploaded bit of personal expression is a scant twelve seconds long. When I first came upon this site, I thought, “Seriously? Is this how short our attention spans have gotten? First Twitter with it’s 140 character micro-blogging, now this?”
Can people say or show anything of real value in such short bursts? Well, Twitter has proven, if done right, the answer is yes. Quality news or entertainment can be delivered in just a couple of sentences. Let’s face it, sometimes less is more and I think this can make us a more efficient society of communicators.
As I browsed thru the 12Seconds website, I found that twelve seconds is plenty of time to get a point across, at least for the more skilled video bloggers. It’s also a fun outlet for artists, musicians, animators, etc. who want to conquer the challenge of the highly constraining parameters.
Social networking is nothing new and — let’s face it — has become the buzzword of choice tossed around by lame execs trying to look web savvy. Still, a site such as 12Seconds depends on that sense of community to work. Longer videos could find success floating around the web, but these tidbits of wisdom or entertainment or just plain silliness need to have a more focused audience.
I’ve set up my channel, started adding friends and uploaded two videos so far. To be honest, I have not figured out what my place in this micro-video universe will be. For now, I’m just enjoying the fun of discovery.
See Also:
12Seconds.tv
My 12Seconds Channel
