6-Second Comedy: How Vine Established Social Media Careers and Impacted Pop Culture
Youtuber David Dobrik is considered to be one of the most influential people in current influencer and social media spaces. With his quick trademark 4 minute and 20-second videos, Dobrik has created an empire complete with a clothing line, signature fragrance, multiple tv shows, and even several award show hosting gigs. Dobrik has been able to transcend beyond the Youtube space and solidify what is possible with a career in social media.
But Dobrik didn’t start his career on Youtube. Instead he, and his beloved friend group dubbed by fans as ‘The Vlog Squad’, found their footing via a different social media platform: Vine.
In its short lifetime, Vine established the careers of several of the most popular social media stars today while also simultaneously making a deep impact on pop culture as we know it.
Founded in June of 2012, Vine was created during a time when, as founder Dom Hoffman put it, “you were throwing social network ideas at a wall and hoping that it would stick.” In October of 2012, Twitter bought Vine and prepared it for an eventual January 2013 launch for iPhone users.
The app allowed users to create quick 6-second videos with content ranging from magic to art creation. Users like Dobrik and ‘The Vlog Squad’ utilized the app to create comedy skits of themselves with quick-witted jokes. Although the group began on their own respective individual accounts, as they rose further to fame via the app and began collaborating they saw their followers amass to the millions solidifying them as some of the most popular creators on the platform.
Vine also saw the creation of ‘social media conventions’ where social media content creators and their fans could interact. The conventions allowed fans to get up close and personal with their favorite viners and see their antics up close and in person. Additionally, the events allowed content creators to also generate more buzz and solidify their fan bases. For example, Magcon, which quite literally means meet and greet convention, featured several of the most popular “tween” viners and helped catapult members into fame beyond Vine.
Ever heard of Shawn Mendes? The now Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter found his initial fame via Magcon and posting singing videos to Vine. Without the platform and convention, Shawn Mendes may still be an aspiring singer in Canada.
Aside from establishing the careers of many popular social media stars, Vine also created a deep impact on pop culture. Although the videos on the platform were quick, the jokes and one-liners on the app stuck and users on the app found themselves quoting jokes they had heard on the app in real life.
With quick one-liners like “Country boy I love you,” and “Road work ahead, well yeah I sure hope it does,” users found themselves saying “It’s from a vine.” as the app catapulted to one of the most downloaded apps on the Apple App Store in 2013. Even in 2021, I still find myself quoting vines to my friends almost as if they’re inside jokes and looking up Vine compilations on Youtube. In addition, Vine practically invented the idea of the meme and transformed the way we create content and use social media. Rolling Stone in 2016 even noted that Vine popularized a brand new approach to the way we create comedy stating that the app allowed users to create comedy that was “one-time disposable yet lingering.” In the age of social media where we desire a constant need for validation while also looking for quick ways to entertain ourselves, Vines 6 second videos were a perfect way for us to seek validation while also not overwhelming or attention spans.
Not only this, but Vine impacted pop culture in a more meaningful setting through the ability to quickly publish news content in real-time visually. Prior to the concept of “going live,” many journalists only ever utilized traditional media like television reporting to get news stories out quickly to the public. In only the 2nd month of Vine’s launch, Turkish reporter Tulin Daloglu utilized vine to get information out about the suicide bombing at the US Embassy in Turkey. It was one of the first instances of a social media platform being used for real-time video reporting.
Sadly, in 2016, Twitter decided to end Vine only 3 years after its launch citing the cost of running the app was far greater than the profit being made. With budgeting being low, Vine failed to add new features as its competitors evolved, and when Instagram was launched in 2014 and allowed users to create 15-second videos, Vine couldn’t retain its users that were attracted to the ability to create longer videos. Future social media apps can also learn from Vine’s mistakes through its lack of versatility, development issues, and its failure to continue its instant success.
Although the app has been off app stores for almost 5 years now, it’s hard not to see the lasting impact Vine has had on a generation that grew up during the rise of social media. As a 23-year-old who grew up in the age of social media, it’s hard not to see the cultural impact vine had on my generation in particular. I even remember the wide array of complaints that were strung across social media when it was announced Vine would be leaving the app store and eventually cease to exist. With its ability to kickstart careers for social stars like Dobrik and the one-liners that have defined the humor for an entire generation, Vine’s impact on pop culture is sure to last longer than its lifetime.
