‘Let me be your TV’ (Phillips 1996, 1)

Abstract

Video abstract Mobile media enable immediate and continuous connections as well as ubiquitous pro-ducing, sharing and consuming of audio-visual material. This article analyses the con-ceptualisation of ultra-short media forms and media convergence on Vine. The article is based mainly on the analysis of examples of the Vine users Thomas Sanders, the NBA and the America’s Funniest Home Videos, illustrating the aesthetics and content ena-bled by ultra-short communications. The term para-social interaction, as applied by Horton and Wohl (1956) in the context of mass media, is adapted to Vine as social me-dia, highlighting the performance of intimacy in communication mediated with digital tools.