Vine is on its last leg. Twitter just announced that it will shut down the popular six-second video platform.
Twitter said that Vine will be discontinued "in the coming months" but did not disclose the reason for pulling the plug on the video service. However, everything points to the company's cost-cutting moves necessitated by the continuous fall of their revenue.
The announcement comes hours after the company unveiled that it will lay off 9 percent of its work force. More than 300 workers will be affected by this move. In a move to save the company, Twitter has been offered to other companies. Salesforce was supposed to buy Twitter but plans were thwarted by the company's shareholders.
Thuzio CEO Jared Augustine believes Vine's downfall was due to Snapchat and Instagram's "defensible advantages". Vine users "have been leaving the platform" because of better opportunities. Business Insider cited a Makerly report that half of Vine's top 9,725 accounts have been deleted or been inactive this year.
USA Today reports that Twitter will keep the website and its current content. The company believes that it is "important to still be able to watch all the incredible Vines that have been made." After thanking "all the creators out there" for "taking a chance on this app back in the day", Twitter and Team Vine said they will post details and notifications on through the app and on their Twitter account.
Vine was introduced in January 2013 and was first met with ridicule mainly because of the short time to shoot a video. However, people started enjoying the app and some eventually made careers out of them.
Some of Vine's famous users such as Lele Pons, Brian Koppelman, and Nash Grier have voiced their disappointment with the news but most showed their appreciation. King Bach, the top Vine star with 16.2 million followers, hasn't made an official statement but will appear on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to discuss the news.
Lele Pons said on Twitter, "Never forget where you came from. Thank you for the amazing years". Gabrielle Hannah aka TheGabbieShow bid farewell to Vine by saying it "saved me in one of my darkest and loneliest times and provided me with a voice, an outlet, and a community".
