VINE APP announces on its platform that it is in archived mode today. It is part of Twitter. Vine, founded in 2012 by Dom Hofmann, Rus Yusupov, and Colin Kroll, eventually became one of the most popular video platforms in the world. At its peak, more than 100 million people accessed it each month. In October 2016, Twitter announced the closure of Vine.VINE APP was once very popular. Did you ever use it? Vine was a social media platform that allowed users to upload and watch 6-second videos in a loop format.
Videos on Vine can be recorded and edited directly within the app or simply uploaded for immediate consumption.
The platform worked like any other social network. Users could follow other creators, like content, and experiment with hashtags.
The Vine App also created a feed-like interface that allowed users to discover other creators. Consequently, the creators would also receive additional exposure through the feed.
Vine was made available as a mobile app (for Android and iOS devices) as well as through the platform’s website. In October 2012, Twitter bought Vine for $30 million USD, the app was not 100% developed, and Facebook started blocking the platform in 2013.
The VINE APP was finally closed in October 2016.
What happened to VINE APP?
Vine closed because it was unable to support its content creators, due to high levels of competition, a lack of monetization and advertising options, staff turnover, and problems at parent company Twitter.
Unfortunately, 2014 didn’t start off as well as 2013 ended. In January, co-founder Dom Hofmann announced that he was stepping down as general manager, with Kroll becoming his eventual replacement.
Kroll himself lasted almost three months in that position, finally resigning in April. Both Hofmann and Kroll moved into advisory roles to focus on launching their own products.
Despite the troubling turnover of leaders, Vine continued to rise. As of August 2014, it boasted over 100 million monthly active users, making it one of the largest social media platforms in the world.
Despite the initial success of the Vine App, Twitter (then led by CEO Dick Costolo) emphasized that it had no short-term plans to monetize the platform. Consequently, that also meant that the creators on the platform did not have a reliable source to monetize their videos.
Vine tried to combat the lack of monetization opportunities by adding influencer-related features, like extra exposures in the feed, or adding a tag like “Suggested Viners.”
Problems at parent company Twitter would continue to trickle down to Vine. In October 2015, Twitter laid off more than 300 employees in an effort to become profitable. One of the affected employees was Rus Yusupov, the last member of the founding team standing.
Shortly after being laid off, Kroll and Yusupov began work on their next company, leading to the eventual launch of HQ Trivia . Kroll tragically died of a drug overdose three years later (in December 2018).
The main reason Vine failed was the lack of support it provided to its key stakeholders, namely the influencers on the platform. Some of Vine’s biggest stars had amassed millions of followers and their videos were viewed tens of millions of times.
Despite the tremendous reach that Vine allowed them, creators didn’t have a viable option to monetize their audience. Also, Vine’s short-form video platform didn’t really lend itself to lengthy product promotions. As such, most influencers had to resort to making sponsored videos for other brands.
Vine closed because it was unable to support its content creators, due to high levels of competition, a lack of monetization and advertising options, staff turnover, and problems at parent company Twitter.
VINE APP
