Benedict Townsend
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Before it had even made it onto the App Store, Twitter bought Vine for millions and launched it three months later.
Before it had even made it onto the App Store, Twitter bought Vine for millions and launched it three months later.
Six seconds. That's all it took to change the way the world tells stories. And for a while, it worked.
Six seconds. That's all it took to change the way the world tells stories. And for a while, it worked.
But tech startups can plummet as quickly as they soar. And in the life of Vine, both success and failure came with startling speed.
But tech startups can plummet as quickly as they soar. And in the life of Vine, both success and failure came with startling speed.
It's 2025, and we are living in the content multiverse. Trends have a lifespan of days, if not hours. Nowness is the beat. But it was Vine that set that pace, starting an avalanche of content that would eventually bury it. So, who killed Vine?
It's 2025, and we are living in the content multiverse. Trends have a lifespan of days, if not hours. Nowness is the beat. But it was Vine that set that pace, starting an avalanche of content that would eventually bury it. So, who killed Vine?
If it's not already obvious, I'm a die-hard Vine fan, and like many devotees, I've long been baffled by how something so popular, so foundational, so universally beloved, one, never even turned a profit, and two, folded entirely before its third birthday. For years, I've been uncovering the real story of what happened at Vine. What went on inside Twitter HQ?
If it's not already obvious, I'm a die-hard Vine fan, and like many devotees, I've long been baffled by how something so popular, so foundational, so universally beloved, one, never even turned a profit, and two, folded entirely before its third birthday. For years, I've been uncovering the real story of what happened at Vine. What went on inside Twitter HQ?
Did creators really hold the app for ransom? The very same app that had made them rich and famous in the first place? And why, for the love of Vine, is Elon Musk putting out polls on X with the three-word question, bring back Vine, all these years later? This is the story of the brief, sweet life of Vine. Join me, my dudes... This is where it gets interesting.
Did creators really hold the app for ransom? The very same app that had made them rich and famous in the first place? And why, for the love of Vine, is Elon Musk putting out polls on X with the three-word question, bring back Vine, all these years later? This is the story of the brief, sweet life of Vine. Join me, my dudes... This is where it gets interesting.
This is a Global Player Original Podcast. Do you remember Vine? In 2013, a humble video editing app launched that changed internet culture forever. Six-second videos, pure chaos, no time to overthink. And somehow, it worked. Vine birthed internet legends and villains, viral memes you still quote today, and laid the early foundations for our TikTok scroll spiral.
This is a Global Player Original Podcast. Do you remember Vine? In 2013, a humble video editing app launched that changed internet culture forever. Six-second videos, pure chaos, no time to overthink. And somehow, it worked. Vine birthed internet legends and villains, viral memes you still quote today, and laid the early foundations for our TikTok scroll spiral.
Then, just three years later, it was gone. No warning, no goodbyes, just a total shutdown. People say it was the money. Others say it was blackmail or sabotage. But after speaking to creators, insiders, even a Vine founder, it turns out the truth is far more complicated and far crazier than any of that. To be honest, the answer to who really got rid of Vine...
Then, just three years later, it was gone. No warning, no goodbyes, just a total shutdown. People say it was the money. Others say it was blackmail or sabotage. But after speaking to creators, insiders, even a Vine founder, it turns out the truth is far more complicated and far crazier than any of that. To be honest, the answer to who really got rid of Vine...
It's probably going to make you a little mad. It's a wild ride into genius and betrayal. Profit over creativity and the real power of influence. I'm Benedict Townsend. This is Vine. Six seconds that change the world. A deep dive into how the best app on the internet lived fast and died weird. Launching the 23rd of April. Listen on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts.
It's probably going to make you a little mad. It's a wild ride into genius and betrayal. Profit over creativity and the real power of influence. I'm Benedict Townsend. This is Vine. Six seconds that change the world. A deep dive into how the best app on the internet lived fast and died weird. Launching the 23rd of April. Listen on Global Player or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is a Global Player original podcast.
This is a Global Player original podcast.