Twitter kills Vine three years after launch

TWITTER IS pulling the plug on its sixsecond video platform Vine.

Hours after announcing layoffs of nine per cent of its staff, aimed at cutting costs and getting the company closer to profitability, Twitter said its Vine video service would be shut down “in the coming months”.

Twitter did not disclose why it was shutting down the service, but in a Medium post, thanked those who created or viewed content on the platform.

“To all the creators out there, thank you for taking a chance on this app back in the day. To the many team members over the years who made this what it was, thank you for your contributions. And, of course, thank you to all of those who came to watch and laugh every day.”

No exact timeline was given for when the service would end. Twitter will be keeping the site and its content online “because we think it’s important to still be able to watch all the incredible Vines that have been made”.

LARGE FOLLOWING

While initially mocked when it was announced in January 2013 for offering only six-seconds of video time, the service quickly found a following, producing its own stars such as King Bach (real name: Andrew Bachelor), Nash Grier and Lele Pons, and as a medium to quickly share clips of highlights or big events. Bachelor, Grier and Pons are among the site’s most popular users, each with over 11 million followers.

Rus Yusupov, founder of Vine, expressed his thoughts on Twitter with four words: “Don’t sell your company!”

Yusupov sold Vine to Twitter for a reported $30 million in October 2012 before the service had even launched to the public.