The Rise (and Fall) of Vine

Vine changed the internet forever. Founded in June of 2012 by Dom Hofmann, Rus Yusupov, and Colin Kroll, the platform revolutionized the way content was consumed by users and completely changed user behavior. According to Casey Newton of The Verge, the thing about Vine becoming the internet’s premier tool for making short-form videos is that it happened almost completely by accident” (2016). Vine was truly the start of users’ attention spans shortening, and content creators and marketers had to sit back, think, and re-strategize because of it.

Vine emerged during a time when YouTube was having a moment. Content creators across the globe were creating long-form videos in a variety of niches for years and had consumers turn from traditional television to the internet, where they could watch their favorite YouTubers at the click of a hat. This intersection between traditional video, social media, and overall consumer interest was the driving force behind Vine’s eruptive emergence into the market. It was the beginning of a new digital era that nobody was expecting. Without knowing, Vine changed what video content meant to people and how content was created forever. Its “outward inaccessibility and technological quirks made it a completely unique internet space” said Aja Romano, from Vox (2016).

Vine’s interface was innovative and completely new to people. Consumers no longer had to wait for America’s Got Talent to come on weekly or log onto their computer to watch silly prank videos on YouTube. Vine allowed consumers to consume the content they wanted, whenever they wanted via mobile. Similar to what we know as TikTok today, all you had to do was open the app and start scrolling. Before you knew it you were in a deep Vine wormhole being exposed to hundreds of new creators and different kinds of content at the palm of your hand. “Vine was communal in the extreme. And since its community skewed heavily toward teen and preteen users, many of them black, it frequently looked like no other social media platform on the internet” (Romano, 2016).

Similar to the popularity YouTube creators found when that platform became popular, ‘Viners’ became a thing. Some of these content creators came from YouTube and started creating more snackable versions of the content they were sharing on their other social profiles, while others had never created content prior and turned to Vine only to gain as much recognition and popularity as YouTubers and celebrities. People were smart and began to monetize their content, turning VIne into a full-time job for some.

Vine was the gateway for creators of all kinds to show the world a ‘snackable’ insight into their lives. It was TikTok before TikTok was a thing. It allowed consumers to watch and consume content quicker and easier, but it also shortened people’s attention spans. Vine’s memory lives on; the platform is often talked about by marketers and non-marketers alike. The platform left a lasting impression and when the platform shut down, it served as a gateway for app developers looking to create innovative, creative new spaces for people to have fun on. Nonetheless, Vine’s impact on social media changed the way video content was viewed and created for all generations to come. According to Robinson Meyer from The Atlantic, Had Twitter chosen to listen to its users a few years ago, Vine might be alive today (2016).

Post c/o UF CJC Online’s Introduction to Social Media Course.

References

Meyer, R. (2016, October 28). Why We Loved Vine So Much. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/10/vine-was-too-good-for-us/505622/

Newton, C. (2016, October 28). Why Vine died. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2016/10/28/13456208/why-vine-died-twitter-shutdown

Richter, F. (2013, October 21). Vine is the Fastest-Growing App in the World. Statista Infographics. https://www.statista.com/chart/1553/fastest-growing-apps-worldwide/

Romano, A. (2016, October 28). You may not have understood Vine, but its demise is a huge cultural loss. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2016/10/28/13439450/vine-shutdown-loss-to-black-culture