FileHippo News

The latest software and tech news

Well that’s that then, it’s official, Twitter is Vinally ending its popular video looping app, Vine. It was the Vinest of time, it was... The End Of The Vine…

Well that’s that then, it’s official, Twitter is Vinally ending its popular video looping app, Vine.

It was the Vinest of time, it was the worst of times…

vine

Vine, which Twitter,  the social media company bought for a guesstimated $30 million in 2012 that plays 6 second loops in an endless loop, and that only officially launched in January 2013, is soon to be no more.

According to some sources, the ending of Vine has been on the cards for some time, but last Thursday, Twitter said as well as ending Vine as a going concern, it was also going to cut around 9% of its global workforce (around about 350 people) in an effort to reduce costs.

While not unexpected, the internet still seemed collectively saddened by the news. Twitter has for a while now been focusing more on Periscope and its live video streaming, and Vine has at times begun to becomes a somewhat anachronistic throwback despite only being a little under 4 years old. It is telling as well that none of the original co-founders are left at Twitter either, having all left since the original acquisition.

That said, Vine still has a sizeable active base. At the last count, the 6 second video loop still had around 200 million active users, despite signs that the numbers were starting to contract.

The hash-tag #RIPVine began trending on-line in the hours after the announcement, and still seemed to be going strong earlier today when I last checked.

But  it’s not like Vine has disappeared just yet.

Users still have time to download Vines and save for them for the sake of nostalgia or to post them somewhere else, and the Vine website is apparently not going anywhere any time soon, so people will still be able to view old Vines whenever they feel like it. It’s just Vine itself won’t be accepting any new ones.

As for alternatives, there’s always other apps, such as the aforementioned Periscope, and others such as Instagram, or Snapchat.

But in the meantime, find a quiet spot and for 6 seconds, reflect on the fact that Vine is now out of time.