I love Vine, but it’s time to say goodbye

The six-second social media platform will forever live on in our memory

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Nora Lucas, JagWire editor-in-chief

Walking down the halls of Mill Valley, there are very few phrases someone could say that would be understood by the mass majority of students. Some of them would probably be huge cultural or political statements, but if I could guess, a lot of them would be connected to Vine, the social media platform that showcased six-second videos. And is now dead. Vine was an app for everybody, and although we miss it dearly, it was time to say goodbye.

The story on why it died is complicated. There’s a whole timeline of mishap leading up to its ultimate demise, including a loss of business by its owner Twitter. After a long battle between  developers and contributors, some of whom were making anywhere between $20,000-$50,000 per ad campaign, according to Complex magazine, Vine ultimately died this year on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Though some might argue that it was becoming obsolete or floundering against other social media platforms, as many news outlets such as the New York Times and Business Insider have reported, Vine was not killed by any of these things. Vine died because of greed.

We loved Vine because it was the app for the everyman.

According to New York Magazine, 18 popular Vine stars met app representatives in the fall of 2015 to help reclaim a platform that was already failing, at least monetarily. They asked Vine to pay them $1.2 million each as long as they posted 12 Vines a month. Vine said no, so they walked. As reported by Thrillist, they took their business to other platforms: YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat.

The weird thing is that most people using Vine were, pun intended, out of the loop. That deal wasn’t made public until after the news of Vine’s death went viral nearly a year later. And for most people, it didn’t really matter. Vine had run its course, and they could bereave it with a decent amount of respect.

We loved Vine because it was the app for the everyman. It allowed us a glimpse into people’s lives, from their failed Smack Cams to recording their little sisters crying (don’t tell mom!)  You could be in someone’s home, in their life, for just six seconds, then watch it over and over and over again. Vine was there when no other platform was; there was no news or political drama. It was all just a bunch of young people having a good time. And I think that’s where the magic was. Rest in peace, Vine. You were our cinnamon apple.

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