Benedict Townsend

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.

There are allegations of yelling, bullying, and even, quote, creepy behavior towards female employees that were leveled against the founder, claims he denied. But for the others, I imagine that running a product inevitably wasn't quite as exciting as inventing and launching one. Surely a monotony sets in when you transition from potential to reality. But not according to Russ.

There are allegations of yelling, bullying, and even, quote, creepy behavior towards female employees that were leveled against the founder, claims he denied. But for the others, I imagine that running a product inevitably wasn't quite as exciting as inventing and launching one. Surely a monotony sets in when you transition from potential to reality. But not according to Russ.

But Russ, too, ended up saying an early goodbye to Vine.

But Russ, too, ended up saying an early goodbye to Vine.

In October 2015, it was announced he would leave his role as creative director as part of a restructure at Twitter, which saw over 300 Twitter employees lose their jobs. This was done ostensibly to speed up internal work at Twitter, where its structures and hierarchies had become crowded and messy.

In October 2015, it was announced he would leave his role as creative director as part of a restructure at Twitter, which saw over 300 Twitter employees lose their jobs. This was done ostensibly to speed up internal work at Twitter, where its structures and hierarchies had become crowded and messy.

It was likely also due to the fact that Twitter, much like Vine, had real trouble making money, with its net income in 2015 being a cool minus $521 million. We only know this now, but in fact, Twitter actually wouldn't make any positive net income until 2018 and 2019, before losing it again in 2020 and, at the time of recording, never getting it back. To you or I, this may seem slightly insane.

It was likely also due to the fact that Twitter, much like Vine, had real trouble making money, with its net income in 2015 being a cool minus $521 million. We only know this now, but in fact, Twitter actually wouldn't make any positive net income until 2018 and 2019, before losing it again in 2020 and, at the time of recording, never getting it back. To you or I, this may seem slightly insane.