Eyegroove

Eyegroove was a social media company that developed a mobile application for creating short, interactive music videos, positioning itself as a direct competitor to services like Musical.ly, which later evolved into TikTok. Founded in San Francisco in 2013 by interactive media artist Scott Snibbe and Graham McDermott, the company aimed to simplify video creation with high-quality editing tools, augmented reality effects, and licensed music. Scott Snibbe brought a unique background to the venture, having previously developed parts of Adobe After Effects and created the celebrated interactive album app for the artist Björk, titled "Biophilia". This blend of experience in art, technology, and interactive media directly informed Eyegroove's focus on creative expression.

The business operated in the burgeoning market of short-form video content, targeting a user base keen on social media expression. The Eyegroove app, available on iOS, allowed users to record videos up to 30 seconds long, either in single or multiple takes. Its core features included the ability to lip-sync to a vast library of songs sourced from SoundCloud, apply real-time animated AR filters, and adjust video speed with options for slow-motion or time-lapse. Unlike other platforms, Eyegroove's editing was designed to be intuitive, avoiding complex timelines and allowing users to trim clips with simple taps. The platform fostered a community through an Instagram-like feed, hashtags, and comment threads, encouraging users to share their creations, called "Grooves," on other social networks.

Eyegroove's journey culminated in August 2016 when the company was acquired by Facebook (now Meta) in a deal described as an "acqui-hire". The primary motivation for the acquisition was to onboard Eyegroove's talented team to develop new creative tools for Facebook's suite of products. Following the acquisition, the Eyegroove app was shut down. The technology and creative concepts pioneered by the startup were subsequently integrated into features across Facebook's ecosystem, including the filters and effects found in Instagram Stories, Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Keywords: Eyegroove, Scott Snibbe, Facebook acquisition, short-form video, music video app, augmented reality effects, video editing app, social music video, interactive video, lip-sync app, Musical.ly competitor, Graham McDermott, video filters, social media startup, mobile video, creative tools, Instagram stories, user-generated content, AR filters, SoundCloud integration, video sharing