We’ve all seen the hilarious, mindless, and pure idiotic 6-second videos that made us howl with laughter. It all originated from Vine, the video-sharing platform, but sadly, that’s going to end.
Twitter has announced that they will be killing off Vine and its corresponding website and application soon. The move was decided upon to “trim its headcount and costs”.
The news was revealed on Medium (which sadly, is blocked in Malaysia) today (Friday, 28th October). However, rest assured that it won’t be killed off without notice. Twitter has revealed that the app will be discontinued gradually in the next few months to enable users to save and access their Vines.
They explained:
“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.”
Vine was started in June 2012 by Dom Hofmann, Rus Yusupov, and Colin Kroll, but was very quickly acquired by Twitter in October of the same year for reportedly USD 30 million. However, user numbers have dwindled over the past few years, and with the lack of monetisation options, its no wonder that the app has seen some of its more prolific influencers flee the platform.
The cut did not come as a surprise, as Twitter has announced several across-the-board job cuts on Thursday (27th October), with plans to lay off 9 percent of its workers. The company will be deprioritising some parts of its business, and it seems like Vine has fell victim to it.
Vine is still downloadable via Google Play Store and Apple App Store, and is available via web, so remember to backup your videos before they’re gone!
Sources: The Guardian, Variety.
