Vine: Six Seconds That Changed The World
This is the story of the social media app that changed the face of the internet before it crashed and burned in just three short years. Vine was the future - until it wasn’t. How did a platform so popular and beloved just disappear? Like any self-respecting chronically-online person, Benedict Townsend needed answers. In this 8-part series he tracks down Vine’s founders, social media power players and some of the most famous Vine creators to find out what really happened. What he found? A bizarre story of genius, chaos, and betrayal—and the blueprint for everything that came next. If you want to understand TikTok, or the modern internet itself, you need to understand Vine. Contact us: vinepod@global.com
Episodes
Do you remember Vine? The six-second video app that sparked a cultural revolution, launched careers, and laid the foundation for today’s TikTok obsession? In Vine: Six Seconds That Changed the World, comic and host Benedict Townsend takes you deep inside the rise and sudden fall of the internet’s most chaotic, creative playground.
Featuring exclusive interviews with Vine creators, tech insiders, and even a co-founder, this investiga...
Launched in 2013 after an early buyout by Twitter, Vine quickly grew into one of the fastest growing platforms on the internet. The app created an entirely new category of online content: short, user-generated videos. It became the home of online creativity, birthed beloved memes and viral trends, and introduced a whole new generation of celebrity: the influencer. So, how did an app that was ten steps ahead die only three years aft...
The term “influencer” has entered the mainstream, in large part due to the frat house ecosystem of Viners established by brothers Logan and Jake Paul. In this episode, Benedict and Mary search for one of Vine’s elusive founders, whose idea to simplify mobile video editing transformed modern internet culture. We want to trace Vine back to its very inception, understand who funded it, forged it in fire, and what happened the day Twit...
Vine is quickly becoming one of the world’s most downloaded apps, carving out a unique online identity. In this episode, some of Vine’s earliest creators share how luck, form, and strategy determined viral success and how they navigated the uncharted waters of online fame.
Credits:
Benedict Townsend - Host & Creator
Mary Goodhart - Producer & Creator
As Vine’s influence grew, the seeds of its destruction were being sown. Brands wanted in and things were getting competitive. While most creators experimented and responded organically to engagement, opportunistic newcomers saw Vine as something else: a system to game and they were willing to play dirty to win. Creators soon found themselves falling victim to rampant plagiarism — the digital world’s new 'Grand Theft Auto.'
Credits:
<...As tensions rise, battle lines are drawn. Creators want money. Leadership want control. Founders turn their back on their biggest stars. And Twitter watches from the sidelines as its $30 million acquisition flounders. Behind the scenes - Benedict and Mary chase down the one person who might know who really pulled the trigger.
Credits:
Benedict Townsend - Host & Creator
Mary G...
Vine is on the edge of collapse - creators are in open revolt, Instagram is circling, as Twitter turns a blind eye. With the sacred 6-second limit on the chopping block and creator trust hanging by a thread, time is running out. Enter Karyn, Vine’s newly hired Head of Creators – an outsider with a bold vision to save the app. Her strategy? A full-scale reinvention. But at a glittering Hollywood party pac...
In a high stakes meeting with Vine’s top creators, a one-million-dollar demand threatens to upend the platform. What started as a push for collaboration spirals into chaos, with creators leveraging their power and Vine’s leadership scrambling to respond. Was this bold move the cause of Vine’s demise, or just one piece of a much larger story?
Credits:
Benedict Townsend - Host & Creator
Do you believe in life after Vine? On October 28, 2016, the app took its last breath. It left behind a bittersweet legacy that would shape the internet for years to come. In this episode, we unravel the truth behind the app’s demise: the million-dollar demands, the missed opportunities (lip-syncing, anyone?), and the seismic impact it had on creators and culture. With firsthand accounts from insiders and creators, we explore whethe...
If you enjoyed Vine: 6 Seconds that Changed the World, we think you'll love Coining It - your next podcast fix. It's the wild story of broke, restless man, stuck in a life going nowhere - until he discovers a glitch in a Bitcoin trading platform that begins pouring millions into his account. How far would you go if the money felt endless? And what would it cost when it finally ran out?
Lewis Goodall explains more about the true stor...
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