Vine

Method

Dom Hofmann, Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll found Vine in New York in June 2012 and Twitter buys it four months later for 30 million dollars, launching the app on 24 January 2013. Vine creates the first short form video stars, among them Logan Paul, King Bach, Zach King, Liza Koshy and David Dobrik, but never builds a payout program. In late 2015 nearly twenty top creators meet Vine executives and ask for 1.2 million dollars each to post twelve original videos a month; Vine declines, the stars stop posting and move to YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. Twitter announces the shutdown on 27 October 2016 and closes the app on 17 January 2017. The rung that breaks is the payout rung: attention with no rail to income. Hofmann later launches Byte, and Jack Dorsey's Divine successor app with the Vine archive opens in April 2026.

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The path: money and goods moving

• acquired byX (Twitter)Twitter buys Vine for a reported 30 million dollars in October 2012 and shuts the app in January 2017.2012
• spawnedLogan PaulLogan Paul builds his first audience on Vine and is among the top creators at the late 2015 meeting that asks Vine for 1.2 million dollars each.2013 to 2016
• spawnedJake PaulJake Paul builds his first 5 million followers on Vine before moving to YouTube and Team 10. (partly verified)2013 to 2016
• spawnedDavid DobrikDavid Dobrik starts on Vine in 2013 and moves to YouTube vlogs in 2015, forming the Vlog Squad. (partly verified)2013 to 2016
• spawnedLiza KoshyLiza Koshy starts on Vine in 2013 and carries her audience to YouTube before the shutdown. (partly verified)2013 to 2016
• spawnedZach KingZach King's magic edits find their first mass audience on Vine before TikTok makes him one of its most followed creators. (partly verified)2013 to 2016
• spawnedUpchurchUpchurch's 2014 Vine and YouTube clips as Upchurch the Redneck build the audience that funds his independent catalog.2014
• spawnedByteVine co founder Dom Hofmann builds Byte as a successor, launching it in January 2020.2018 to 2020

Influence

• influencedTikTokTikTok's looping short video feed is widely described by the press as the format Vine created and abandoned, with many Vine stars restarting there. (partly verified)2017 to present