Shots Wants to be the Best App for Comedy
A few years ago a Justin Bieber endorsed app came out called Shots of Me. It was basically a selfie/video sharing app that was aimed at teenagers because those were the people interested in sharing selfies and who were into Justin Bieber. Sounds a lot like Snapchat, huh? Well yes, at first, but the CEO has now realised that if the app is to last, it needs to evolve, and as such it's transformed into the self-proclaimed killer-app for comedy.
Shots is a simple app, you can still share your own pictures and videos but you can now share other things too through links. If you see something funny on Youtube or Buzzfeed or sites like that then you can just copy the url into the app.
Unlike sharing on other apps you won't see a preview image, just that a link has been shared from this service and then the article, image or video title. If you like one of the links then you can share how you feel about it by choosing a positive emoji. It looks quick, easy to use and like there should be enough stuff to keep any teenager's attention span.
That's right; Shots are sticking with their teenage market. There are a lot of different apps and social media services out there now and teenagers will be using a lot of them. They already have Snapchat and Instagram for selfies, YouTube and Vine for videos, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter for funny articles to be shared.
There had to be something that melded the formats together but in a different form, one that might not drain too much data if you're out and about and your parents will kill you if you go over your data allowance. Shots does that in a way that’s not necessarily pretty but practical. Plus, let's face it, as great as the discover features are on some of these services, they never share stuff that's purely funny. Shots has a discover section that's actually titled funny where they share some of the funniest links people have posted. You can share them again to your timeline or in a private chat and it's all pretty awesome.
Shots also has a secret weapon when it comes to drawing teenagers to the app and it's no longer just Justin Bieber's celebrity endorsement (only 20% of users of the app follow Bieber on Twitter now) but from Vine stars. Viners are starting to make a serious name for themselves from Cameron Dallas being invited to Calvin Klein's Men's Fashion Week show to King Bach being on TV and now moving into films too. It's kind of amazing that these people who sharing short looping videos of themselves are getting so popular but they are, especially with teenagers.
King Bach even uses Shots himself and featured on an Awkward Puppets short by fellow Viner Rudy Mancuso. Bieber has voiced in one short and featured in a separate one as well and the videos are linked on Shot's website as well as the app. They're posted originally on YouTube but it's clear that Shots is what the videos are really made for. The humour is definitely aimed at teenagers, even though there is a little bad language and you’ll find that adults will laugh too.
I'm a little in love with this app myself, and it looks like it could be a lot of fun, at least for a little while. The only problem is that it is the sort of thing you check every day for a bit before slowly getting bored of. Shots is going to have to get bigger and better with its features and original comedy to really make it but they have plans to at least get some money from advertising in the future. The ads will be video clips but whether they'll be shared like posts or will just pop up is still unknown. Since the app is free you can understand the need for ads but it could possibly ruin the app experience.
The app is available for both iOS devices (with Apple watch connection) and Android devices now.
 |
| Shots |
Unlike sharing on other apps you won't see a preview image, just that a link has been shared from this service and then the article, image or video title. If you like one of the links then you can share how you feel about it by choosing a positive emoji. It looks quick, easy to use and like there should be enough stuff to keep any teenager's attention span.
That's right; Shots are sticking with their teenage market. There are a lot of different apps and social media services out there now and teenagers will be using a lot of them. They already have Snapchat and Instagram for selfies, YouTube and Vine for videos, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter for funny articles to be shared.
There had to be something that melded the formats together but in a different form, one that might not drain too much data if you're out and about and your parents will kill you if you go over your data allowance. Shots does that in a way that’s not necessarily pretty but practical. Plus, let's face it, as great as the discover features are on some of these services, they never share stuff that's purely funny. Shots has a discover section that's actually titled funny where they share some of the funniest links people have posted. You can share them again to your timeline or in a private chat and it's all pretty awesome.
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| Google Play Store |
King Bach even uses Shots himself and featured on an Awkward Puppets short by fellow Viner Rudy Mancuso. Bieber has voiced in one short and featured in a separate one as well and the videos are linked on Shot's website as well as the app. They're posted originally on YouTube but it's clear that Shots is what the videos are really made for. The humour is definitely aimed at teenagers, even though there is a little bad language and you’ll find that adults will laugh too.
I'm a little in love with this app myself, and it looks like it could be a lot of fun, at least for a little while. The only problem is that it is the sort of thing you check every day for a bit before slowly getting bored of. Shots is going to have to get bigger and better with its features and original comedy to really make it but they have plans to at least get some money from advertising in the future. The ads will be video clips but whether they'll be shared like posts or will just pop up is still unknown. Since the app is free you can understand the need for ads but it could possibly ruin the app experience.
The app is available for both iOS devices (with Apple watch connection) and Android devices now.
Rosina is a Songbird rookie with a degree in Creative Writing. She's trying to focus on her novel on the side but is hoping that Content Writing will turn out to be a good career choice in the mean time! Follow her @RosinaAtSMF
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Shots Wants to be the Best App for Comedy
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Friday, March 04, 2016
Rating:
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Friday, March 04, 2016
Rating:
Unknown
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