BTW: Vine Is Back.
But nostalgia can only make it so successful
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On November 12, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey announced his backing of a project to bring the dead social media app Vine. Launching now as diVine, the new app will be an archive of 10,000 Vine videos and an opportunity to create new six-second looping videos. It will also be a haven for AI haters, as diVine promises to be rigorous in flagging generative AI content and preventing its posting. However, a resurrected Vine risks the same fate as its predecessor as it relaunches in an increasingly professionalized content creator economy. Nostalgia can only take diVine so far if doesnât figure out how to turn a profit and lure top talent beyond marketing gimmicks.
The Expensive Creator Economy
Vine existed in a different social media world. The phrase creator economy barely existed. Marketers still slung around user-generated content to describe social media. Kylie Jennerâs Snapchat was all the rage for makeup tutorials. Instagramâs shoppable photos were considered the future of e-commerce, and Periscope was considered the next big thing. When Vine shuttered, stars like the Paul Brothers, Lele Pons, and David Dobrik moved to YouTube, alongside the shift from user-generated content to content creator. In hindsight, the mid-2010s involved a substantial shift in how we thought about social media, partially due to Vineâs success. Social media didnât just have to be a repository for photographs or videos taken elsewhere; they could be hubs with content made originally for them. Creating content could be a specialized enterprise.
As social media grew and professionalized, Vine became a victim of its own success. It was difficult to run ads between six-second bursts of content. Influencers and sponsored content didnât really align with the appâs culture of silliness and pranks. And as YouTube began a hub for more and more long-form content, where advertising made more logistical sense, Vine couldnât compete.
Today, the creator economy is on track to be worth $500 billion by 2027. Former Vine stars are now some of the biggest creators in the world and have parlayed YouTube fame into Bonafide celebrity, from appearing on reality television shows to boxing matches. There are over 200 million creators worldwide, and the influencer marketing field is projected to spend over $33 billion on collaborations in 2025. All of this to say â diVine faces major competition in breaking into this market. Vine once helped lay the foundation for todayâs creator economy. But today, itâs possible this new world of creators has surpassed what six-second video is capable of.
Nostalgia Only Goes So Far
When it was announced Vine would be resurrected as diVine, social media users were ecstatic. Was resurrected Vine the platform to save us all? It seemed like it.
But the move to bring back Vine feels reminiscent of Hollywoodâs obsession with remakes and reboots: Why create something new and fresh, when you can give consumers the same thing, but different? With diVineâs archive, this is also more than just a reboot - itâs literally a return to the classic six-second Vines we love. As one of my friends put it, âIâll just be content watching those over and over and over again.â
Nostalgia is a powerful driver of media, and in todayâs risk-averse entertainment landscape, executives prefer a sure thing. Reboots, like media adapted from previous intellectual property (like books and video games), bring guaranteed audiences. diVine is no exception. Nostalgia speaks to our hopes, desires, fears, and frustrations about media, and the excitement for diVine shows how we long for a simpler time on social media.
Who Does Succeed on diVine?
But in addition to the nostalgia factor, diVine has one big marketing pull - it will be staunchly anti-AI. Every new app always needs a marketing gimmick to succeed, or at least temporarily pull users away from the likes of TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitch. But an interesting premise or clever marketing angle only lasts so long - remember BeReal? If apps wind up being stuck as a one-trick-pony, theyâll fade from memory faster than Vineâs six second videos.
diVineâs pledge to be anti-AI is surely enticing as AI slop and Sora2 content dominate social media. This anti-AI promise speaks to that nostalgia for a desire of simpler media times. While critics may say diVine will eventually cave to AI pressure, I see this more of a sign of the impending AI bubble burst. The AI industryâs massive spending for relatively small profits is an indication this LLM race will eventually come to a crawl. Additionally, social media platforms are notorious for copying each other - while they may resist an AI crackdown at first, if they see users flocking to diVine in earnest, we may see a similar move.
My skepticism of diVine shouldnât be understood as pessimism. I do think thereâs a subset of people who will succeed on diVine, and if the company has a smart creator recruitment program, they may last. If I was advising diVine on talent acquisition, I would encourage them to target micro and mid-tier influencers over macro and mega influencers. These tiers have devoted, niche audiences and high levels of engagement. They are more likely to consider using diVine to grow their audiences while simultaneously connecting with them further, than macro and mega influencers who have already established this. These are the individuals that can help grow diVine beyond nostalgia and anti-AI.
Regardless, it will be fascinating to see what happens next - and if diVine lasts, or if itâs just another flash in the pan.
đAcademic Readings to Learn More:
Muira McCammon and Jessa Lingel (2022). Situating dead-and-dying platforms: technological failure, infrastructural precarity, and digital decline.
đ Things Iâm Keeping My Eye on This Week:
Instagram to start closing Australian teen accounts ahead of social media ban (BBC)
TikTok will let you choose how much AI generated content you want to see (TechCrunch)