I’m going to start with the assumption that you know what Twitter is. I’ve written here about it enough and it’s got all famous since then – any minute now, it’ll be passé.

Having established that, I can safely lazily define 12seconds as “like Twitter but with video”. Where Twitter requires the poster to encapsulate their thoughts within 140 characters, 12seconds is built from videos that are – wait for it – no more than 12 seconds long.

This makes it very hard for them to be boring (though it happens) and encourages the same cutdown, efficient, pithy communication with which regular twitterers will be familiar (and which is notable by its absence from this sentence). As well as recording live via a webcam, 12-second videos can be produced on a mobile phone and emailed to the site – and the short time limit keeps file sizes low enough that that’s actually a practical approach, and the one I use most often.

My channel is, of course, the place to be, although 12seconds automatically sends a message to my Twitter account when I’ve posted, so you can keep abreast of my video clips without registering on 12seconds – although you should register, because then you can post 12-second video clips too!

So what can you do in 12 seconds? Here are some of my favourite clips from my channel (if any of the embedded videos don’t appear, refresh the page or click the link to watch it on the 12seconds site).

Positive reinforcement on 12seconds.tv

PMQs on 12seconds.tv

What’s in the cupboard? on 12seconds.tv

Here are a few examples from other people’s channels.

UK Terror alert status on 12seconds.tv

Video: Governor Howard Dean talks to @libdemvoice. #ldconf on 12seconds.tv

Slight Change Of Plan on 12seconds.tv (and congratulations to Christian who became a dad a day later).

And finally, from the Lib Dem Voice channel (as mentioned in the Evening Standard), my favourite (OK, I’m biased).

Alex Foster’s hidden talent #ldconf on 12seconds.tv

Go on, sign up now. They’re not even paying me for this.