Malvern students react to the end of an app that started many trends and will be remembered for some of the most famous videos on the Internet.
“What are Those?”, “Smack Cam”, “What Are Those?”, “The Running Man Challenge”, and countless other trends/memes all started on Vine, a wildly successful app extremely popular among young people and millennials. Twitter’s announcement to shut down their affiliate has surprised many people around the world, including students here at Malvern.
http://https://vine.co/v/irajIwrZOQd
Vine was an app where users could watch six second videos under a variety of categories, including Comedy, Sports, Food, TV and News, For You, and Popular Now. You could also follow your friends and view their posts, send posts you like to people you want, and like and comment on posts similar to Instagram. “Revining” was also a popular feature, where you pressed a button and a video you “revine” appeared on your personal page.
Vine was founded in June 2012. Shortly after, Twitter bought the company for $30 million. In the months and years following this purchase, Vine exploded and grew massively as a center for comedy and trends; it also lent an opportunity for fame and notoriety worldwide. Many ordinary people became famous by posting their stories for thousands and even millions of people to see. Just six months after its foundation, Vine became the number one app on the App Store.
On October 27, 2016, Twitter announced they would be shutting down Vine because it has free fallen in the rankings in the App Store and fallen out of competition with other major social media companies, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc, according to TechCrunch.com.
Senior Dom Distefano is an avid Vine user. “I’ve been using Vine since it came out, and still use it on a daily basis,” he said. DiStefano’s inspiration to use Vine came from seeing the fame some people gained from sharing their lives on the app.
DiStefano’s inspiration to use Vine came from seeing the fame some people gained from sharing their lives on the app.“The reason I still use Vine is because I watched an episode of 60 Minutes with my parents where they interviewed some of the most famous Viners and how much money they make,” DiStefano said. “It’s crazy. [Famous Viner] Logan Paul makes so much money through commercials now because of his publicity.”
“The reason I still use Vine is because I watched an episode of 60 Minutes with my parents where they interviewed some of the most famous Viners and how much money they make,” DiStefano said. “It’s crazy. [Famous Viner] Logan Paul makes so much money through commercials now because of his publicity.”
DiStefano was definitely disappointed in hearing this news.“If you have something funny you want to share with the world, you can share it to almost any social media page through Vine,” DiStefano said. “I know a lot of people, including myself, are really confused as to why it’s being shut down. It will be missed.”
“If you have something funny you want to share with the world, you can share it to almost any social media page through Vine,” DiStefano said. “I know a lot of people, including myself, are really confused as to why it’s being shut down. It will be missed.”
Sophomore Alex O’Brien, who also thoroughly enjoys Vine, is also disappointed to see it go. “I’m actually pretty sad, to be honest. I spend a good amount of time on Vine,” O’Brien said. “It’s a great source of comedy. Some days I click the Comedy tab and just watch Vines and laugh hysterically. It’s so fun.”
Another Vine user, freshman John Gordon, also agrees with DiStefano and O’Brien, and is pretty bitter about the announcement. “There is no longer an app where you can find the most random and funny videos,” Gordon said.
Gordon said that Vine has had a big influence on our whole generation, on top of being a source of entertainment. “Vine has produced laughs, memes, and relatable videos that have had an influence on how our generation can look at things.”
