Benedict Townsend

absolutely you can take an approach of like oh well there'll always be more creators but also sometimes it's a bit of a quality over quantity thing like you know you've got a movie you could cast Tom Hanks and you go you know what there's plenty of other actors we'll just get another actor and it's like yeah but that is not Tom Hanks, doesn't have the pull. It's the same with these creators.

absolutely you can take an approach of like oh well there'll always be more creators but also sometimes it's a bit of a quality over quantity thing like you know you've got a movie you could cast Tom Hanks and you go you know what there's plenty of other actors we'll just get another actor and it's like yeah but that is not Tom Hanks, doesn't have the pull. It's the same with these creators.

You know, I think Twitter seemed to have this approach of like, creators are just like a naturally occurring resource that comes out the ground. We'll have so many of them and it'll be fine. But it's like, well, actually, if you want to succeed, you have to court the big players and you have to treat them with a modicum of respect. You have to acknowledge they exist.

You know, I think Twitter seemed to have this approach of like, creators are just like a naturally occurring resource that comes out the ground. We'll have so many of them and it'll be fine. But it's like, well, actually, if you want to succeed, you have to court the big players and you have to treat them with a modicum of respect. You have to acknowledge they exist.

And where did that come from, that kind of resistance? Is it because they wanted it to be about...

And where did that come from, that kind of resistance? Is it because they wanted it to be about...

When I think of this period of Vine, I think of comedy skits. I think of the 1600 Viners, a spattering of generally offensive lowbrow humor. Turns out there was so much else going on, it just wasn't breaking through for users like me.

When I think of this period of Vine, I think of comedy skits. I think of the 1600 Viners, a spattering of generally offensive lowbrow humor. Turns out there was so much else going on, it just wasn't breaking through for users like me.

Taylor Lorenz watched this play out. She says it wasn't just a matter of refusing to engage with the biggest creators. The founders were actively taking measures to try and suppress their influence.

Taylor Lorenz watched this play out. She says it wasn't just a matter of refusing to engage with the biggest creators. The founders were actively taking measures to try and suppress their influence.

That is crazy to me. Yeah, this was one of the revelations from your book. A revelation to me anyway, which is that I always associated Vine with having like no algorithm, you know, no, they didn't mess with the feed. You know, it was kind of one of the last apps where they weren't actively messing with the feed.

That is crazy to me. Yeah, this was one of the revelations from your book. A revelation to me anyway, which is that I always associated Vine with having like no algorithm, you know, no, they didn't mess with the feed. You know, it was kind of one of the last apps where they weren't actively messing with the feed.

But as you say in your book, apparently they were basically secretly curating the popular feed by a certain point, basically because they didn't like creators. Exactly.

But as you say in your book, apparently they were basically secretly curating the popular feed by a certain point, basically because they didn't like creators. Exactly.

Russ, expectedly, frames it a little differently.

Russ, expectedly, frames it a little differently.

Of course, we know that by now for the 1600 Viners, this was about more than just having their popularity recognized. Vine was an integral part of their careers and their livelihoods. Brendan McNerney remembers when monetization opportunities became a core part of the Vine experience without any involvement from the platform itself.

Of course, we know that by now for the 1600 Viners, this was about more than just having their popularity recognized. Vine was an integral part of their careers and their livelihoods. Brendan McNerney remembers when monetization opportunities became a core part of the Vine experience without any involvement from the platform itself.

Other creators we've spoken to have said this as well. They said it felt weird to them that they couldn't communicate easily with the people running the app that they were so successful on.

Other creators we've spoken to have said this as well. They said it felt weird to them that they couldn't communicate easily with the people running the app that they were so successful on.