Vine to Shut Down as Twitter Cuts Jobs

Twitter announced today that popular social platform Vine will be shutting down in the new year. Vine, launched in 2013, quickly became a popular platform for creative expression. Vine became a key source for funny video and even story telling. The 6 second video format made it a unique platform before video was more widely accessible on social platforms. Since 2013 however video has become integrated into most social platforms including Instagram, Snapchat, and even Vine’s parent company Twitter.

Indeed competition is fierce for Vine and it may not help that projections suggest Twitter may be faltering a bit as well. It was reported they will be cutting 300 jobs, suspiciously releasing their Q3 earnings results out of sync with other tech companies, and rumors of selling the company.

The team is quick to say that the website will remain up and users will have the opportunity to save their vines so no one will lose any of their videos because of this and they will continue to be accessible.

Vine’s full announcement reads:

“Important News about Vine

Since 2013, millions of people have turned to Vine to laugh at loops and see creativity unfold. Today, we are sharing the news that in the coming months we’ll be discontinuing the mobile app.

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.
– Team Vine & Twitter”

Is this news disappointing to you or have you already moved onto another social platform? Do you think Twitter itself could be at risk?