Twitter

Twitter may have made its name through 140-character musings in text, but the social network is betting big on the future of video. In 2016, Twitter extended the maximum of length of videos posted to the service from 30 seconds to 140 seconds and doubled-down on live-streaming with its mobile app Periscope. In the fourth quarter of 2016 alone, Twitter doled out 600 hours of live video and reeled in 31 million viewers. It capitalized on its natural role in the news cycle and became a destination for millions during the presidential debates, election night, and the 2017 presidential inauguration. By forging media partnerships with the likes of Disney, the NFL, and BuzzFeed, Twitter is doing everything it can to ensure that people’s ever-distracted eyeballs remain fixated on its video content during major pop-culture moments, sporting events, and news breaks.