Previously rumored to be coming June of 2018, Vine 2 (the rumored successor to Vine) has now changed its name to Byte and will be released spring of this year. Dom Hofmann, co-founder of Vine, has been working with a group of developers and designers in order to bring a resurgence of six-second videos, and many internet users are excited for this new development from the former Vine team. But is the app worth getting? Are six second videos going to be as popular as they were back in 2016?
If you don’t know what Vine is, let me elaborate. Vine was a popular six second video sharing platform with more than 200 million users. The app spanned anywhere from comedy to singing to trick shot clips. Vine was basically today’s TikTok. TikTok is basically Vine but with a focal point on lip-syncing and longer videos… and from China.
Many former Viners had found solace in other platforms after Vine, some branching into mainstream media, television, and the fashion industry. Liza Koshy, David Dobrik, Cameron Dallas, and Logan Paul are only a handful of popular and successful Viners that still have a career in either the digital space or celebrity realm after their rise on Vine.
Despite a new specific platform for six-second videos, again, they’ve already been around on other platforms after Vine. Many former users spread their videos to Instagram and started Instagram Comedy pages. On Facebook there are pages dedicated to replicating vines, and on Youtube there’s compilation videos spanning anywhere between ten minutes to half an hour. TikTok had basically taken Vine’s spot as the new short video sharing platform with more than 500 million active daily users worldwide.
There is a fact that can’t be ignored, none of these platforms let you share specifically six-second videos. The closest one to this is Snapchat; topping it’s video sharing feature at ten seconds. So, there is an argument to be made about there being a platform for six-second videos again, and solely six-second videos.
To be honest, I don’t think this app will do well. For an app to be deemed as noteworthy, or successful, would be its ability to earn the founders money. Unless Byte finds an actual way to monetize its platform, bring in brands and win their support with six second media, then the app would be more than effective. Vine’s ability to monetize was its downfall and if Byte––the new Vine––could somehow find the sweet spot of earning money and making its creators and users happy then the app could be a massive hit, more than Vine in its prime.
Many Twitter users are excited with the birth of a Vine successor and many of those people are the same people that Vine has left a hole in their hearts. Every vine user, including myself, can agree that six second videos had pushed everyone on the platform to think on their feet, to bring out the funniest, most creative bit they had because you had so little time to keep someone’s attention. Under these circumstances our generation basically has a secret language about iconic phrases from Vine like: come get yo’ juice and he need some milk and my favorite YEET.
I am excited for Byte and what will come from it, yet I can’t shake the feeling that Byte will be a stillborn, dead the day of its launch.
If you don’t know what Vine is, let me elaborate. Vine was a popular six second video sharing platform with more than 200 million users. The app spanned anywhere from comedy to singing to trick shot clips. Vine was basically today’s TikTok. TikTok is basically Vine but with a focal point on lip-syncing and longer videos… and from China.
Many former Viners had found solace in other platforms after Vine, some branching into mainstream media, television, and the fashion industry. Liza Koshy, David Dobrik, Cameron Dallas, and Logan Paul are only a handful of popular and successful Viners that still have a career in either the digital space or celebrity realm after their rise on Vine.
Despite a new specific platform for six-second videos, again, they’ve already been around on other platforms after Vine. Many former users spread their videos to Instagram and started Instagram Comedy pages. On Facebook there are pages dedicated to replicating vines, and on Youtube there’s compilation videos spanning anywhere between ten minutes to half an hour. TikTok had basically taken Vine’s spot as the new short video sharing platform with more than 500 million active daily users worldwide.
There is a fact that can’t be ignored, none of these platforms let you share specifically six-second videos. The closest one to this is Snapchat; topping it’s video sharing feature at ten seconds. So, there is an argument to be made about there being a platform for six-second videos again, and solely six-second videos.
To be honest, I don’t think this app will do well. For an app to be deemed as noteworthy, or successful, would be its ability to earn the founders money. Unless Byte finds an actual way to monetize its platform, bring in brands and win their support with six second media, then the app would be more than effective. Vine’s ability to monetize was its downfall and if Byte––the new Vine––could somehow find the sweet spot of earning money and making its creators and users happy then the app could be a massive hit, more than Vine in its prime.
Many Twitter users are excited with the birth of a Vine successor and many of those people are the same people that Vine has left a hole in their hearts. Every vine user, including myself, can agree that six second videos had pushed everyone on the platform to think on their feet, to bring out the funniest, most creative bit they had because you had so little time to keep someone’s attention. Under these circumstances our generation basically has a secret language about iconic phrases from Vine like: come get yo’ juice and he need some milk and my favorite YEET.
I am excited for Byte and what will come from it, yet I can’t shake the feeling that Byte will be a stillborn, dead the day of its launch.