12seconds wants everyone to talk like a pirate; more invites for all

In case you forgot, it’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day today — a day when a lot of websites and online networks get into the pirate spirit (check out Google Pirate). Recently launched 12seconds, a video website that limits all video posts to 12 seconds, is taking the opportunity to bring some extra attention to its service, still in private alpha.

12seconds is granting everyone access to its services for just one day. Any visitors to the company’s home page will be able to record a pirate-themed message and will also receive an invite to join the 12seconds network.

While this promotion is somewhat reminiscent of retailers that have one-day sales for Presidents’ Day, 12seconds is actually using this opportunity to test out various aspects of its service–and gain some new alpha users as well. If you’re particularly convincing as a parrot-wearing ransacker, you’ll even win a 12seconds Buccaneer Award. Actually, even the mediocre pirates will receive this special Buccaneer Award. So in true un-pirate fashion, 12seconds is being gracious enough to give everyone the lot of the bootie. Now there’s a deal you just can’t beat.

12seconds recently launched its application programming interface (API) and partnered with some other services including the Adobe AIR-based messaging client TweetDeck and Phreadz, a threaded video conversation site. It is attempting to gain some traction against the likes of the longer-form video update service Seesmic. Because 12seconds videos are so short, it’s a bit more akin to a video version of the micro-messaging service Twitter.