Benedict Townsend

Renumeration for everything they feel they've given to a platform that's long neglected them. How did it go? Well, hold your horses, folks. There's a whole episode about that. But let's just put it this way. When was the last time you opened Vine? Okay, so how in the bloody heavens did we get here?

Renumeration for everything they feel they've given to a platform that's long neglected them. How did it go? Well, hold your horses, folks. There's a whole episode about that. But let's just put it this way. When was the last time you opened Vine? Okay, so how in the bloody heavens did we get here?

A bunch of teenage pranksters have Twitter, one of the world's biggest social media giants, with a multi-billion dollar market cap by the proverbial... I mean, can I say balls? Balls feels wrong. Imagine I'm saying a classier version of balls. They're not even past the legal drinking age, but they're holding Vine, an app invention that has revolutionized social media as we know it, for ransom...

A bunch of teenage pranksters have Twitter, one of the world's biggest social media giants, with a multi-billion dollar market cap by the proverbial... I mean, can I say balls? Balls feels wrong. Imagine I'm saying a classier version of balls. They're not even past the legal drinking age, but they're holding Vine, an app invention that has revolutionized social media as we know it, for ransom...

Well, dear listener, to understand how we got here, we have to go back to when and how it all started. The thing that made Vine interesting, that made the app so popular so quickly, wasn't just that it let you edit videos on your phone, but the creative challenge it posed to the public. You have six seconds, now make something good.

Well, dear listener, to understand how we got here, we have to go back to when and how it all started. The thing that made Vine interesting, that made the app so popular so quickly, wasn't just that it let you edit videos on your phone, but the creative challenge it posed to the public. You have six seconds, now make something good.

Freelance tech designer Rich Arnold also remembers the buzz when Vine landed.

Freelance tech designer Rich Arnold also remembers the buzz when Vine landed.

If you know American accents, you might be able to pick up on Rich's New Jersey twang. He'll play a bigger role later in our story, but at this point, he's just moved to the city to pursue his tech career, which back then wasn't exactly a thing on the East Coast. It was another way that Vine was already breaking the mould.

If you know American accents, you might be able to pick up on Rich's New Jersey twang. He'll play a bigger role later in our story, but at this point, he's just moved to the city to pursue his tech career, which back then wasn't exactly a thing on the East Coast. It was another way that Vine was already breaking the mould.

What were the things about Vine that felt like cool and new and odd and interesting?

What were the things about Vine that felt like cool and new and odd and interesting?

Taylor Lorenz is a celebrated tech journalist, well known for her coverage of Vine. So it seems fitting that she was one of the first to experience the six-second phenomenon.

Taylor Lorenz is a celebrated tech journalist, well known for her coverage of Vine. So it seems fitting that she was one of the first to experience the six-second phenomenon.

For one of the single most consequential online products in modern history, very little is actually known about Vine's origin story. We know it went big. We know it went bust. But where in the heavens did it actually come from? Well, the only way to figure it out is by finding a founder. But according to my producer, Mary... That's not as easy as it sounds. OK, Mary, three founders. Who are they?

For one of the single most consequential online products in modern history, very little is actually known about Vine's origin story. We know it went big. We know it went bust. But where in the heavens did it actually come from? Well, the only way to figure it out is by finding a founder. But according to my producer, Mary... That's not as easy as it sounds. OK, Mary, three founders. Who are they?

What do we know about them?

What do we know about them?

Okay, so Dom Hoffman. What's his vibe?

Okay, so Dom Hoffman. What's his vibe?