Vine is dead; Twitter to shut down the service

Vine is a video sharing service where users can share six-second long looping clips called 'loops'.

It was founded by Dom Hofmann, Rus Yusupov, and Colin Kroll in Jun'12; Twitter acquired Vine for $30mn in Oct'12, even before its launch.

Users' videos can also be shared on other social networks like Twitter and Facebook.

As of Dec'15, Vine had 200 million active users.

Exactly four years after acquiring Vine, Twitter decided to shut down the six-second looping video platform.

Twitter said the app's "loops" would be available on the web.

The announcement came after Twitter posted third-quarter earnings; 9% of Twitter's staff would be laid off.

Vine stated, "To all the creators out there- thank you for taking a chance on this app back in the day."

Vine 'stars' have seen for years what Twitter made official - Vine is dead.

Popular Vine star-turned-Snapchat star, Jerome Jarre hasn't posted on Vine in over a year; he once used to rule the six-second looping video platform.

However, by 2014, he and several other Vine stars began doing similar videos on Snapchat.

Jarre said Vine had started to fade, deserted by the audience.

Gradually, several of the Vine stars had moved on to larger - better-paying - pursuits.

Vine peaked in Aug'14 when it was used at least once a month by 3.64% of the US' Android mobile users compared to only 0.66% today.

While several were nostalgic, looking back fondly on Vine's initial days, Vine Co-founder Yusupov was regretful; he said: "Don't sell your company!"

In 2013, when Twitter Co-founder Jack Dorsey announced they were launching Vine, he called it "an entirely new art form to the world."

Dorsey pushed the then-Twitter CEO Dick Costolo to buy Vine even before its launch.

Its six-second format led to a new variety of joke that got funnier the more it looped.

Vine's video-splicing features and unique micro clips were a hit.

Twitter tried to save Vine and make it a more lucrative option for creators.

In 2015, Twitter bought Niche, a platform connecting creators with brands; experimented with longer videos on Vine carrying pre-roll advertisements.

But, Snapchat and Instagram raced to compete with longer and disappearing videos.

Kettle digital agency's Social Strategist Chris Gilbert said Twitter didn't do early enough on to monetize and prioritize.