Benedict Townsend

Today's creators are much more aware of taking ownership of their content. Even if memes and catchphrases are a nightmare to trademark, the public cares that creators get their due. For example, the guy who tried to trademark Jules Lebrun's catchphrase, very demure, very mindful, before she could, he had his address publicly listed on Google Maps. Don't do that, by the way.

Today's creators are much more aware of taking ownership of their content. Even if memes and catchphrases are a nightmare to trademark, the public cares that creators get their due. For example, the guy who tried to trademark Jules Lebrun's catchphrase, very demure, very mindful, before she could, he had his address publicly listed on Google Maps. Don't do that, by the way.

We're not encouraging that on this show. We're in a different era now, but back in the life of Vine, we're still in 2013, and no one really knows how to protect their content, let alone how to make money off this thing. But that was all about to change.

We're not encouraging that on this show. We're in a different era now, but back in the life of Vine, we're still in 2013, and no one really knows how to protect their content, let alone how to make money off this thing. But that was all about to change.

That's Brandon Calvillo, the subway worker from Orange County that we met last time, whose Vine comedy skits were popular page mainstays.

That's Brandon Calvillo, the subway worker from Orange County that we met last time, whose Vine comedy skits were popular page mainstays.

I believe that Vine is up in the echelon of perfect technological moments along with maybe the first summer of Pokemon Go. And it's really been downhill from there for a short form video after it went away. I miss it all the time.

I believe that Vine is up in the echelon of perfect technological moments along with maybe the first summer of Pokemon Go. And it's really been downhill from there for a short form video after it went away. I miss it all the time.

Praise from Ryan Broderick is praise indeed. He's one of those tech reporters who are so deeply immersed in the online world, he could probably give you a definitive ranking of every pixel on Google's homepage. In 2013, he was fully tuned in as Vine became a household name.

Praise from Ryan Broderick is praise indeed. He's one of those tech reporters who are so deeply immersed in the online world, he could probably give you a definitive ranking of every pixel on Google's homepage. In 2013, he was fully tuned in as Vine became a household name.

Around middle 2013, 2014, you started to see... like 27 vines, you've got to watch, you know, it was, it was that era, this massive influx of digital publishers, just, you know, writing up any viral moment and then sending it out to Facebook. Right.

Around middle 2013, 2014, you started to see... like 27 vines, you've got to watch, you know, it was, it was that era, this massive influx of digital publishers, just, you know, writing up any viral moment and then sending it out to Facebook. Right.

And that era was, you know, it's very silly to look back on now, but I think it was very useful for identifying when something had kind of broken through the zeitgeist, when a content type could become something that your parents could read on Facebook.

And that era was, you know, it's very silly to look back on now, but I think it was very useful for identifying when something had kind of broken through the zeitgeist, when a content type could become something that your parents could read on Facebook.

Vine started out as this kind of punk, rogue, creative machine, punching way above its weight. With a relatively small pool of creators, no rules, and almost no algorithm, for Ryan, it was a kind of magic.

Vine started out as this kind of punk, rogue, creative machine, punching way above its weight. With a relatively small pool of creators, no rules, and almost no algorithm, for Ryan, it was a kind of magic.

So I think it was changed eventually, but at first you couldn't upload video into Vine. You had to film the video with Vine. So there was this implied spontaneity, this sort of implied magic where it's like, wow, I captured this six-second clip and it's crazy. I mean, a lot of it was like very typical for the era of viral video stuff. So it was just like funny moments.

So I think it was changed eventually, but at first you couldn't upload video into Vine. You had to film the video with Vine. So there was this implied spontaneity, this sort of implied magic where it's like, wow, I captured this six-second clip and it's crazy. I mean, a lot of it was like very typical for the era of viral video stuff. So it was just like funny moments.

It was people doing pranks or extreme behavior in public. It wasn't something you edited. It was just something you filmed. And a lot of the ones that went viral had like a very specific feel to them, which was like, oh, I managed to capture this like six seconds of incredible video content.

It was people doing pranks or extreme behavior in public. It wasn't something you edited. It was just something you filmed. And a lot of the ones that went viral had like a very specific feel to them, which was like, oh, I managed to capture this like six seconds of incredible video content.