SnappyTV: SnappyTV Powers Twitter's Video Strategy for Everything from March Madness to the President

If you see clips of buzzer-beaters from Turner Sports properties in your Twitter feed after the March Madness tips off tomorrow, you can thank SnappyTV for the excitement. Such moments will underscore how Twitter is leveraging Snappy TV to increase its media influence with video.For instance, even the Commander in Chief uses SnappyTV. The White House was quick to post snippets of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address thanks to the technology that is lending immediacy to video-much like the platform initially enabled the media to post texts and photos quickly.Twitter is competing in a video free-for-all with its social media rivals Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat and other Web companies. The competition is about giving the highest-quality content producers the easiest tools to upload their videos, attract consumers and sell ads, of course.So buying SnappyTV last year was an important step for Twitter, which has to organize a whole variety of video formats and links to play effortlessly in the stream users see. We chatted with Glenn Brown, head of content and partnerships at Twitter, about his company's multimedia strategy."Snappy's role is to make it easier, generally speaking, for content producers, rights-holders, TV broadcast networks and sports leagues to digitize clips and share the video with users," Brown said.Snappy can capture any sort of live feed, he said.Twitter also owns Vine, for six-second clips from Web celebrities and brands. This year, Twitter released its first native video to record directly to the app. It also hosts links to sites like YouTube and Vimeo.SnappyTV is integral to its Amplify ad program, which splits revenue with content producers who sell ads against their videos. This is what lets the National Football League sell sponsorships for millions of dollars to brands that get to show an ad before the league shows a highlight.The immediate aspect of the Amplify program is a natural fit for Twitter, which has long billed itself as the go-to second screen for live TV. It's a position Facebook is looking to overtake, and that social network has even launched similar programs to lure the media companies and brands.Amplify has crafted more than 100 partnerships with sponsorship deals, according to Twitter. The National Basketball Association uses SnappyTV to post every play refs review during the season."We are plugging in the offline world of video into the online world as fast as possible," Brown said.Here are some key moments from SnappyTV that show it is a growing force in social video:President Obama to @BethanyMota on why you should care about politics. #YouTubeAsksObama #BetterPolitics http://t.co/35dxf22rhw- The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 22, 2015Llamas on the loose in Arizona - http://t.co/aREET4WTvs- Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) February 26, 2015Review: if Hill was fouled attempting a 2 or 3-pt FG in Q4 of #CLEvIND. Ruling: Reversed, fouled attempting a 3. http://t.co/Dyt7ufJJPE- NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) February 7, 2015"We survived. And since that day, our voices have grown louder and louder." #nobelprize2014 http://t.co/uyRKJ9rEjK- The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) December 10, 2014HIGHLIGHT: @MercerMBB with a HUGE 3-point play to extend its lead to five over Duke. (by @CokeZero) #MarchMadness http://t.co/mvpDLTaVNX- NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 21, 2014HIGHLIGHT: Kentucky ends Wichita State's perfect season in St. Louis! (by @InfinitiUSA) #MarchMadness http://t.co/x67Pih3NZQ- NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 23, 2014HALFTIME on CBS: @Vol_Hoops 41 - #UMass 22 http://t.co/0sKleCuNBR- March Madness TV (@MarchMadnessTV) March 21, 2014