Over 5 million videos uploaded to Instagram in first 24 hours

Instagram App of the Year

As anyone within 5 miles of a computer can tell you, popular photo sharing service Instagram unveiled a new video capture and upload feature yesterday. The Facebook-owned app can now shoot and post 15-second, Vine-like videos.

And apparently people love it. Today, Facebook flexed its muscles in the direction of Twitter’s Vine team, announcing that Instagram users uploaded a staggering 5 million video clips in the first 24 hours of the feature’s existence…

CNET reports:

“Instagram users have embraced the application’s just-released video feature by uploading 5 million videos in the first 24 hours of the feature’s availability, a company representative told CNET.

At peak, Instagram users uploaded 40 hours of video per minute. The climactic moment came Thursday night as the Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs during the NBA Finals, the representative said.”

Of course, the numbers aren’t that surprising as they highlight Instagram’s biggest strength: a big loyal following. The social network touts over 130 million active users, which it says uploaded a year’s worth of video in the first 8 hours.

With that kind of power, you really have to wonder where Vine goes from here. The Twitter-owned video sharing network boasts a user base of just 13 million, though its app has maintained a top position in the App Store since it launched.

For what it’s worth, Vine is making some moves of its own. Earlier this week, the team announced that it will be introducing “some exciting new parts of Vine” in the near future. And yesterday, it teased a major upcoming update for its app.

Thoughts?