Benedict Townsend

Along with my producer Mary, I tracked down an elusive founder, tech journalists, popular creators, rivals, and perhaps most importantly, former Twitter staffers who were in the room when Vine drew its very last breath. But first, let me take you back to the very beginning. That's what the internet sounded like back in 2005. It was a simpler time on the World Wide Web. Network speeds were slower.

Along with my producer Mary, I tracked down an elusive founder, tech journalists, popular creators, rivals, and perhaps most importantly, former Twitter staffers who were in the room when Vine drew its very last breath. But first, let me take you back to the very beginning. That's what the internet sounded like back in 2005. It was a simpler time on the World Wide Web. Network speeds were slower.

No one had heard of an iPhone. We wrote blog posts, not tweets. And social media was still in its MySpace adolescence.

No one had heard of an iPhone. We wrote blog posts, not tweets. And social media was still in its MySpace adolescence.

The founder of YouTube had just uploaded its first ever video, 19 seconds of his friend in front of San Diego Zoo's elephant enclosure, entitled Me at the Zoo.

The founder of YouTube had just uploaded its first ever video, 19 seconds of his friend in front of San Diego Zoo's elephant enclosure, entitled Me at the Zoo.

Fast forward a decade, it's 2015. The internet was moving at warp speed, and at the heart of it all was a tiny, looping app called Vibe. It started with an idea so simple it was revolutionary.

Fast forward a decade, it's 2015. The internet was moving at warp speed, and at the heart of it all was a tiny, looping app called Vibe. It started with an idea so simple it was revolutionary.

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.