One good thing deserves another, and so is the bad. The good thing is that we've seen Vine entertaining the web with loops and creativity since 2013, and the bad is Twitter decided to discontinue the mobile app.
Vine has been the source of many memes, humorous clips and even experimental videos. While it did get the popularity it wanted, the app was also the source of controversy. Vine that has been popular in its own means, was unable to compete. When Instagram added video support, Vine tried to keep up by allowing longer videos, but that didn't quite work out.
Here's the company’s full announcement on October 27th, 2016:
"Nothing is happening to the apps, website or your Vines today. We value you, your Vines, and are going to do this the right way. You’ll be able to access and download your Vines. We’ll be keeping the website online because we think it’s important to still be able to watch all the incredible Vines that have been made. You will be notified before we make any changes to the app or website."
"Thank you. Thank you. To all the creators out there — thank you for taking a chance on this app back in the day. To the many team members over the years who made this what it was — thank you for your contributions. And of course, thank you to all of those who came to watch and laugh every day."
"What’s next? We’ll be working closely with creators to make sure your questions are answered and will work hard to do this the right way. We’ll be sharing more details on this blog and our Twitter account, and will notify you through the app when we start to change things."
Vine's six seconds of fame are over. For one part, it's because of Twitter.
The microblogging platform happened to acquire Vine before it had officially launched in 2012 for a reported $30 million. While there were already dozens of social video apps available, Vine would have access to something none of them have: Twitter's massive user base.
However since that time, Twitter integrated a separate video facility into Twitter's main platform, and acquired and launched the livestreaming app Periscope.
Related: Twitter And Vine Are Ramping Up Their Video Feature To Join The Elites
Twitter didn't provide its reasons for shutting down Vine. However, the move was announced just hours after the company confirmed a significant job cuts in its desperate move to be profitable.
Twitter is suffering, and it's suffering is shared with Vine:
Vine is loved by many of its loyal community, but it's struggling inside the industry. Vine's failure mimics Twitter's that is also unable to keep up with competitors. Vine also suffered from Twitter's unclear product vision and unclear path to mainstream success. Another thing that added Vine's suffering is its lack of credibility to become a platform like Facebook where almost anyone feels comfortable posting.
When Dick Costolo was Twitter's CEO, he described Vine as "the next big thing". Jack Dorsey, Twitter's co-founder then called Vine as Twitter's "foundational acquisition." But those quotes aren't lasting. We're now seeing the end of Vine, and even its devoted community won't be able to keep it afloat.
