January 29, 2013
Socialcam Founder Michael Seibel On Giving (Video) Power to the People
How does Socialcam differ from some of its competitors like Viddy, Mobli and Klip?
Often times I feel as though the other startups are trying to turn video into something that’s a little bit more nuanced. You know, [a] social media tool like a Twitter-type thing. I think that works. Twitter works in a world that has blogging, but does Twitter work in a world that doesn’t? I don’t know. I think that right now video still has some room to grow before it can then incorporate itself into people’s mainstream lives. So what we try to do is make sure we give people no limitations. They can create whatever video they want, whether it’s just a simple video of your kids having a birthday party to the artistic video of the sunset, or anything in between.
You have big-name brands like the Brooklyn Nets, Avion Tequila, and the Oprah Winfrey Network on Socialcam. What’s the “secret sauce,†if you will, as to why Socialcam provides the best platform for these brands?
When they come to Socialcam, we say, “Look, this is about taking video with your phone.†You can use highly-produced videos if you want, and some brands do, but a lot of brands really embrace the idea that this is about everyday tools. This isn’t about let’s invest $100,000 in a production team and multiple cameras. The brands that we’re embracing do an amazing job; they get so much more engagement.
We’re building a product that’s more personal–and certainly more authentic. That’s kind of how you separate yourself from the pact.
What’s next for Socialcam?
There are a couple of big frontiers. Certainly Android, we would like our Android app to be a lot better than it is right now. Also, in terms of our app design, there’ll be a lot of changes on that front. We’ve made some technology changes to make it a lot easier for us to update the design over time. We’re kind of making a pretty significant transformation of the product from something that’s more Twitter like, chronological feed of videos, to something that’s a lot more Facebook like–a feed of videos created by your friends that should be timely, but it also should be interesting and relevant to you. I think going through that transition has been challenging but the early results have been really good. That’s definitely an area we’re excited about.
Lastly, making better videos.