Flickr Videos: Twitter in motion?

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So it’s official and working. Videos can now be uploaded to Flickr just like on PhotoBucket. But there are a lot of strings attached to this one:

90-second cap on video length and 150MB in size
Only “safe” and “moderate” videos are allowed
Original content is a must
Only users with PRO Flickr accounts can upload videos

Of course everyone else could watch the videos. However, I see something else with this new development in Flickr. Why would a photo storage and sharing site would host videos? There are a lot of good websites that already do this and Flickr has been doing good at hosting and sharing photos. It even led to Zooomr’s migration to Japan. So why host videos all of sudden?

From my comment left on Yuga’s post about this new Flickr feature, it is perhaps an attempt to “break the ice”, so to speak, because if I’m correct no significantly new development has happened to Flickr since of late except for this one. They’ve done the photo hosting and sharing gig so well there was almost nothing new to do or to try.

And so, moving pictures was the next logical step. After all, Flickr is still a photo hosting and sharing site remember?

But why just 90 seconds of video fun? Why are there so much strings attached to new feature?

The answer is found in the Flickr FAQ:

Video on Flickr is going to be defined by our incredible, diverse, far-flung and fabulously talented members. Some answers that we’ve come up with:

1. A long photo
2. Personal
3. Simple – not overproduced or slick
4. Possibly the best answer so far: The Great Unknown

Okay. Still, somehow, and you’ve guessed it from the title of this post, I cannot help but think that Flickr Video is their take on what has made Twitter so successful.

Just 140 characters
Personal
Simple – not like a full blown blog post like this one
Just answer one question: What are you doing?

If 140 characters of personal updates from friends, colleagues, family and fellow bloggers can be so addicting, a 90-second video would be just as tasty and interesting as well. We’re not even talking about the excitement of shooting a 90-second clip. Perhaps this would be my ticket to videoblogging, eh?