Twitter acquired the mini-video-taking app Vine last October before it ever launched, sending everyone into a frenzy about the company getting into the video space.
In late January, Twitter finally launched the app to much applause. Since then, it’s gone through temporarily being removed from the featured section due to an issue over adult content, to being used in interesting ways by brands and celebrities.
Today, it all paid off, as it hit the top of the charts for free apps in the U.S., according to co-founder and Creative Director Rus Yusupov:
https://twitter.com/rus/status/321406005076451328
https://twitter.com/bobby/status/321406757983358977
It’s a pretty impressive feat for any app that’s not a game to hit this spot, and it’s also impressive for Twitter to have another presence on the list, in addition to their own core app. Clearly the push from Twitter helped the cause. The top app on the free store gets quite a bit of downloads after it hits the spot, eventually coming back down to earth after a quick explosion.
The charts are based on new downloads and trajectory of its current download popularity, therefore Twitter’s own app sits at #35, which just means that a lot of people have already downloaded it. When an app is at the top of the charts for a long time, it’s safe to say that there are a not of new users being onboarded daily.
Vine’s closest competition in the social sphere? Snapchat. And even then, there are a few games in between the two. The good news for Vine and Twitter is that the service is iOS-only at the moment, which means there is quite a bit more growth for the app to experience, much like Instagram did when it went over to the Android platform. Nearly half of all Instagram users are Android users.
The multi-app approach is working for social companies, as all you have to do is look at Facebook’s success with Messenger, Instagram and the quick-hit Poke to get the idea. Once a big platform starts splintering off smaller experiences with focus like video, or say eventually music, its main audience will of course at least give them a try.