Benedict Townsend

content and as a creator he was flexible his material later veered towards the absurd he was more interested in pushing boundaries than maintaining popularity but he was always well connected on the creator grapevine and he spent a good deal of time with the 1600 viners of all the people i spoke to he has the best insights i've been able to find into what working with that group was actually like

content and as a creator he was flexible his material later veered towards the absurd he was more interested in pushing boundaries than maintaining popularity but he was always well connected on the creator grapevine and he spent a good deal of time with the 1600 viners of all the people i spoke to he has the best insights i've been able to find into what working with that group was actually like

could be brand friendly but at the same time i think at the end of the day they were still trying to push the envelope in some way which i think is respectable it's interesting that you said that they would like full-on delete vines because of course you know it's not monetized right you're just okay yeah there's brand deals out there but ultimately when you post a vine you're kind of doing it for the love of the game right you know especially in the early days so the fact that they were dedicated enough to just fully delete videos

could be brand friendly but at the same time i think at the end of the day they were still trying to push the envelope in some way which i think is respectable it's interesting that you said that they would like full-on delete vines because of course you know it's not monetized right you're just okay yeah there's brand deals out there but ultimately when you post a vine you're kind of doing it for the love of the game right you know especially in the early days so the fact that they were dedicated enough to just fully delete videos

I don't know. I think that might surprise people.

I don't know. I think that might surprise people.

CPM basically means how much money brands would be willing to pay a creator to promote their product. It literally means cost per meal, the value per thousand impressions on each bit of content you make. It's basically just a way to measure how valuable someone's content is.

CPM basically means how much money brands would be willing to pay a creator to promote their product. It literally means cost per meal, the value per thousand impressions on each bit of content you make. It's basically just a way to measure how valuable someone's content is.

And here's the thing, Vine wasn't paying any creators directly, but quantifying the value of their performance on the platform was definitely translating into money-making opportunities outside of the app. These finance bro acronyms, they feel a far cry from the early days of Vine. The rebel app that was all about making video editing accessible, a creative challenge, a tool built for creativity.

And here's the thing, Vine wasn't paying any creators directly, but quantifying the value of their performance on the platform was definitely translating into money-making opportunities outside of the app. These finance bro acronyms, they feel a far cry from the early days of Vine. The rebel app that was all about making video editing accessible, a creative challenge, a tool built for creativity.

But it was fitting for an era where Vine was going through quite a dramatic metamorphosis. On the 7th of January 2014, just under a year after Vine's official launch, one of its original founders, Dom Hoffman, walked away. It's pretty shocking. Vine had been his brainchild, dreamed up with Russ Yusupov, sold to Twitter, and grown into a rapid cultural phenomenon, and he was leaving it all behind.

But it was fitting for an era where Vine was going through quite a dramatic metamorphosis. On the 7th of January 2014, just under a year after Vine's official launch, one of its original founders, Dom Hoffman, walked away. It's pretty shocking. Vine had been his brainchild, dreamed up with Russ Yusupov, sold to Twitter, and grown into a rapid cultural phenomenon, and he was leaving it all behind.

Colin Kroll, founder number three, initially took over Dom's role as lead general manager, but just three months later, he also followed Dom out the door, and as the dust settled, only Russ stayed on.

Colin Kroll, founder number three, initially took over Dom's role as lead general manager, but just three months later, he also followed Dom out the door, and as the dust settled, only Russ stayed on.

I mean, these were also, you know, especially you had a long-standing relationship with Dom. You know, these were friends of yours. How did it feel for you, especially when you were the last founder standing?

I mean, these were also, you know, especially you had a long-standing relationship with Dom. You know, these were friends of yours. How did it feel for you, especially when you were the last founder standing?

Did it make you question whether or not you should stick around? Obviously, you left to do HQ Trivia, but when they left each time, did you think, is it time for me to go as well?

Did it make you question whether or not you should stick around? Obviously, you left to do HQ Trivia, but when they left each time, did you think, is it time for me to go as well?

Former Vine staff have told us that Vine's work culture had suffered at Twitter HQ, and Colin later made a statement to Axios confirming that he had been, quote, let go from Vine for poor management, saying he was sorry for the things he'd said and done, which made people feel unappreciated or uncomfortable.

Former Vine staff have told us that Vine's work culture had suffered at Twitter HQ, and Colin later made a statement to Axios confirming that he had been, quote, let go from Vine for poor management, saying he was sorry for the things he'd said and done, which made people feel unappreciated or uncomfortable.