Vine mobile app: Not your dad's candid camera

Advisers who don't have teens or tweens at home may be in the dark about a popular app for recording video clips that increasingly is finding its way into the business social-media scene. It's called Vine. The biggest use of the technology appears to be teens recording short clips, or vines, of riding roller coaster rides or amusing pets, or capturing odd human experiences such as the “self-portrait from a ceiling fan,” which can be dizzying. But more and more businesses are finding interesting ways to embed vines into their social-media posts, such as recording short messages about a product or service, or recording an event, or even making a vine to highlight a story. (Check out my first vine sample. For advisers, the best use may be for those who are already using social media to add video clips “that show clients you are human,” said Michael Kitces, a partner and director of research at Pinnacle Advisory Group Inc. The occasional video of an adviser with his or her family on the weekend or enjoying a sporting event or hobby could serve to humanize an adviser who most clients know only in a professional setting, he said. Jeff Rose, founder of Alliance Wealth Management LLC, has used several vines in his social-media posts that highlight his personal life, including one that features his two-year-old son dancing to techno music. “I didn't used to be an early adopter, but as I have dove into social media, I always want to try new things to see if there's any potential for it,” Mr. Rose said. “Vine is captivating because it brings a whole new personal element, though I don't know how that carries over yet.” The Vine app for iOS devices debuted in January, and by April, had become the most downloaded free app for those using the Apple operating system. It was made available for Android devices this week. Vine allows users to record up to six seconds of video that can be quickly shared on social-media sites, especially Twitter, which purchased the app from its creators last October even before they had launched it. The six seconds of video do not have to be continuous. The app records only while the user is touching the screen, so most people use it to record a couple seconds of several things. The app mashes them together and plays the six seconds of looping video. After recording the vine, the app automatically asks whether to link it to the user's social-media accounts.