Benedict Townsend

In a way, it wasn't that Vine left behind legions of mourning fans, it's that legions of fans had already left Vine.

In a way, it wasn't that Vine left behind legions of mourning fans, it's that legions of fans had already left Vine.

It's interesting that Taylor mentions Musical.ly, the lip-syncing app that would prove to be Vine's unlikely successor. When I asked Russ if there was anything Vine could have done to have survived, his reply really surprised me.

It's interesting that Taylor mentions Musical.ly, the lip-syncing app that would prove to be Vine's unlikely successor. When I asked Russ if there was anything Vine could have done to have survived, his reply really surprised me.

What was that trend?

What was that trend?

Okay.

Okay.

Quite a few people in tech have really labored this point about the significance of lip-syncing, which, you know, at this point kind of feels like a bit of a blip in the history of the internet, but Musical.ly figured out how to do something that Vine had never managed to do, which is to get masses of users to actively post content on their own rather than sitting back as just passive observers.

Quite a few people in tech have really labored this point about the significance of lip-syncing, which, you know, at this point kind of feels like a bit of a blip in the history of the internet, but Musical.ly figured out how to do something that Vine had never managed to do, which is to get masses of users to actively post content on their own rather than sitting back as just passive observers.

That's real engagement.

That's real engagement.

So there were conversations at Vine. They maybe didn't go very far, but there were conversations at Vine about should we bother with this lip syncing thing?

So there were conversations at Vine. They maybe didn't go very far, but there were conversations at Vine about should we bother with this lip syncing thing?

It's difficult to imagine any social platform these days ever choosing not to pursue a potentially popular feature because they thought it was too vapid or too uncreative. It's another example of the Vine team putting their own creative sensibilities ahead of profit-led decision-making. If Vine had gone all in on lip-syncing, would it have survived to this day?

It's difficult to imagine any social platform these days ever choosing not to pursue a potentially popular feature because they thought it was too vapid or too uncreative. It's another example of the Vine team putting their own creative sensibilities ahead of profit-led decision-making. If Vine had gone all in on lip-syncing, would it have survived to this day?

Or, with the great wisdom of hindsight, did they kind of do themselves a favour by not clinging on? In a way, Russ's aversion to lip-syncing has been partly vindicated. No one considers that era of the internet as particularly iconic.

Or, with the great wisdom of hindsight, did they kind of do themselves a favour by not clinging on? In a way, Russ's aversion to lip-syncing has been partly vindicated. No one considers that era of the internet as particularly iconic.

Just before I say goodbye to Russ, he drops a wild alternate history where Vine is bought back by its creator, the prodigal son returning into the fold.

Just before I say goodbye to Russ, he drops a wild alternate history where Vine is bought back by its creator, the prodigal son returning into the fold.