Vine video-sharing app is back – and battling AI slop | Vine
Vine, the pioneer of the short-form video format, was considered one of the most influential, albeit short-lived, social media platforms.
The app, which allows users to record a six-second looping video, exploded in popularity after its launch in 2013, spawning a slew of viral comedy skits and internet memes. At its peak, it reached 100 million monthly active users and helped launch the careers of influencers like Logan Paul.
It was acquired by Twitter (now X) shortly after its founding, but was shut down in 2017 after the platform failed to collect totals.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is now backing an attempt to bring back a revamped version of the beloved platform with a new philosophy: to be a short-form video app that offers “freedom from AI decline.”
The former Twitter CEO has funded the new platform, which will host 500,000 videos from the original Vine app and also allow users to post new content. Any new material must meet the traditional six-second time limit and also need to be made by a human. Under the name Divine, the platform was relaunched in app stores and started with the philosophy: “Creative power is in the hands of people.”
This comes at a time when low-quality AI-generated material is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid online. Recent research has found that more than 20% of the videos YouTube’s algorithm shows to new users have an “AI bias.”
Divine was first released to testers last November and has hosted 100,000 popular videos from the original app and is now publicly available. The project is spearheaded by Evan Henshaw-Plath, known online as Rabble, a former Twitter employee who wants to give old vines a permanent home. He said some original Vine creators have already expressed interest in the project.
While the return of the app will create nostalgia among a wide group of web users, those behind its return have larger intentions. “Divine began as a personal project to reconnect with a time when the internet was creative, open and unquestionably human,” Henshaw-Plath said.
“The overwhelming response to our initial announcement has turned my side project into more of a movement. The launch of the app is less about nostalgia and more of an antidote to what social media has become.”
“Divine will begin to redress the balance of power by giving creators and users more say in their online social lives and businesses.”
To ensure that no AI-generated content is published, Divine allows users to save videos directly from the app or verify that they are human-made using a verification tool.
The funding was provided through Dorsey’s nonprofit fund and Other Stuff, which supports open source social media projects. “It’s no secret that we couldn’t find a business model for Vine,” Dorsey said. “One of Divine’s core principles is that creators always have full control over their content and followers, allowing them to create and grow their own revenue streams.”
The project reflects the regret felt by key parties over the sale and closure of the original Vine. The app’s founder, Rus Yusupov, made no secret of his belief that the sale to Twitter was a mistake. After Twitter announced it would shut down the site, sent: “Don’t sell your company!”
No matter how important Vine is in the development of digital platforms, there are major obstacles to the success of the new application. Short-form videos have exploded and sites like TikTok are now established. Meta has its own platforms, including Instagram Reels. YouTube Shorts, owned by Google, has an average of more than 200 billion daily views.
