There is a new competitor in the social networking platform war, and it is called Vine.
Vine, which launched last week, is a video-sharing service that allows users to share six-second long looping videos with friends.
Similar to Instagram, but in video form, I downloaded Vine last week from the Apple App Store, and I say it is fun to use.
However, Vine barely made it through a weekend without facing controversy. Vine users have quickly started using the device for sharing pornography, violence and other risqué video posts.
Vine combats these posts by allowing users to flag content as inappropriate. However, these posts still get through the cracks.
While Apple’s App Store commended the new Twitter-based app by making it an Editor’s Choice download, the App Store has a policy of not allowing pornographic apps in its selection.
If Vine cannot fix the problem, it will find itself absent from the App Store, which would be a major setback if it wants to compete with other social networking giants.
To be honest, the first thing I thought when I downloaded Vine was that this thing was going to become flooded with porn and other similar content. I remember when Chatroulette was an innocent chatting service until it was overrun by men displaying their “manhood.”
I have not seen anything pop up in my Vine feed that I find risqué; however, I don’t follow people who would post those videos. I think.
In order to find these videos, the user must search for it through hashtags. In this case, you’re basically asking for it. This was the case until Vine accidentally posted a pornographic video as an Editor’s Pick for all users to see. This is when it becomes a problem. Vine will certainly have trouble combatting the weird stuff people post. It is the nature of the platform. However, Apple should give Vine some time to fix the problem. If Instagram can do it, so should Vine.
Chasen Doerr is a senior journalism major and the opinions editor for the Daily 49er.
