The latest social media networking site, Keek has started to creep onto the radar recently. With a flurry of celebrity endorsements including Tom Daley, Miley Cyrus and Cheryl Cole, Keek is beginning to take off. But what exactly is it all about and is it just another fad?

Simply put Keek is Twitter but with videos. The idea is you upload a video (maximum length 36 seconds) as a status. This video is then shared with friends and followers and you have the option to ‘Keekback’ which allows you to comment on Keeks (videos). Like Twitter you can @mention, send private Keeks, follow users and compile Klusters to target specific discussions. All very well in theory but isn’t quickly typing a tweet much easier than doing a video?

Not necessarily. Keek is available as a smart phone app so it’s really easy to record a video and upload it in seconds, plus the rise of sites like Pinterest have demonstrated that in terms of content engagement visual images are better than typed, wordy updates. A recent Pew study showed that video sharing is a growth subset of the online environment and 71% of online adults use video-sharing sites.

The reason Keek has suddenly burst onto the social media scene is an investment of $5.5 million earlier in October. Isaac Raichyk, founder and chief executive officer of Keek Inc., said: “Keek starts at the intersection of microvideo, social networking and mobile apps, then steps it up a notch.

We’ve created a platform that provides users with a fun new way to connect and share their lives. Keek is a place where people can interact and build communities through microvideo dialogue, which is more informative and fun than traditional microblogging or photo sharing,”

It seems that video bogging and microvideo dialogue are the next step in social media networking as the visual image prevails and Keek’s compatibility with smart-phones suggests that it could become one of the next social media giants.

By Harriet Thacker