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Goodbye Vine | Derek Li
Goodbye Vine
by Derek Li
Ever since it was created in 2013, Vine has been the initiator of random yet viral trends. “9+10=21”. “What are those”. “My name is Jeff”. The list goes on… Now, it is all coming to an end.
On October 27, 2016, Twitter, the owner of Vine, announced that they were going to kill off the mobile app; no reason was provided. However, this announcement was made right after Twitter confirmed that they would be laying off around 9% (around 350) of its employees in an effort to stay profitable and competitive.
Twitter bought Vine for a reported 30 million dollars in 2012, right before the new platform’s initial release. Although Vine has been fairly popular especially among children and teenagers, it has never met Twitter’s expectations, nor has it been the focal point of the mega social media company. Vine also hasn’t garnered a consistent user base, unlike other social media networks such as Facebook, where there are many more users who also feel more obligated to comment, post, or share stuff.
A major theory as to why Vine shut down is because of Instagram, a major competitor. In addition to attracting more consistent users, after Instagram decided to implement videos into the application, people just started to abandon Vine.
So, what will happen to those once-famous creators who were earning six figure salaries and getting sponsorships through making Vine videos? Well, recently, production on Vine has been slowing down majorly. More and more of these video makers are turning to bigger social media platforms, namely Instagram and Snapchat. As many Vine creators found out, relying on one platform to create all your income is risky. As Meagan Cignoli, who was a famous Vine star, said, “…it really shows you can’t base your entire career on one app because it can change within seconds.”
For those of you freaking out right now, there is a silver lining: only the mobile app is shutting down. According to Vine, it will “be keeping the website online because (they) think it’s important to still be able to watch all the incredible Vines that have been made.” So, you won’t be able to create videos more, but at least you can still rewatch those addicting, trendy videos on repeat. Vine also stated that their next step would be “working closely with creators to make sure (people’s) questions are answered and will work hard to do this the right way”.
Maybe the end of Vine will cause another app to rise to fame. Maybe the end of Vine means the end of short, comedic videos. Nevertheless, in the past few years, Vine has had a huge, unforgettable impact on the internet. Let the nostalgia begin.