Privacy is the new game now in social media networks.
True to its name, Vine has branched out and added a new service feature, one that's more private and which goes beyond six-second video sharing.
This time, it ventured into private messaging. Yes, like the other social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
"Now you can privately send Vine videos and text messages to your friends. You can even send videos to anyone in your address book, even if they aren't on Vine," Jason Toff, product manager of Vine, said in a blog post on Thursday.
He said the company recognized the growing need and desire for private messaging on its platform, which is why they've come up with the new feature. He went on to explain how to create and use Vine messages (VM).
In the navigation menu, select the new "Messages" option, and then record the video. The VM can be sent to several people. However, each conversation is individualized. Meaning, to send video to eight friends, for example, eight separate conversations should be started as well.
Twitter explains the reason for such a limitation.
"We thought a lot about the overall experience and how to create a feature that makes messaging on Vine fun, easy and unique. Ultimately, we felt that the best way to introduce Vine messages was with one-to-one conversations," Twitter said.
The message inbox has two sections, namely "Friends" and "Others." By "Others," we mean people not in your network. To receive messages only from friends, turn off "Others" in the Settings section.
Vine users should download the latest version of Vine from the Google Play or App Store to begin using the VM feature.
Apart from VMs, the company has released the colors feature, which can customize the profile look and is visible to others. The colors can be chosen in the Settings section.
"And we've got a couple other features we didn't talk about here, so follow @vineapp for tips and tricks," Toff teased Vine users.
Some people say the VM feature is akin to its rival Instagram's Direct. Facebook owns Instagram, while Twitter owns Vine, so there's the logic. Others, meanwhile, wonder if advertisers will use such messaging features to pitch their brand, services or products, which could be annoying at times for some users.
Doubts and questions also were raised earlier, saying the messaging feature could be used for more porn-related activities. Still, Twitter has assured the public that users will no longer be able to post any content considered pornographic or sexually explicit in nature, and that existing porn content will be taken down. Except for one thing: artistic nudity and other forms of nudity for educational or documentary use. The decision to allow this specific material makes one think harder about where to really draw the thin line between the artistic and the trashy.
Now, it makes us wonder even more: How would parents, with children and teenagers using Vine, react to this?
