6. VIVs (Very Important Viners)

Vine is on the edge of collapse - creators are in open revolt, Instagram is circling, as Twitter turns a blind eye. With the sacred 6-second limit on the chopping block and creator trust hanging by a thread, time is running out. Enter Karyn, Vine’s newly hired Head of Creators – an outsider with a bold vision to save the app. Her strategy? A full-scale reinvention. But at a glittering Hollywood party packed with Vine’s biggest stars, it becomes clear: this rescue mission won’t be easy. The fate of Vine is teetering on the edge – and not everyone wants it saved.

 

Credits:

Benedict Townsend - Host & Creator

Mary Goodhart - Producer & Creator

Kevyah Cardoso - Narrative & Creative Producer

Patrick Lee - Sound Design & Score

Chris Janes – Mix

Lucy Chisholm Batten - Legal

Sophie Snelling - Executive Producer

Al Riddel - Head of Factual Podcasts

Vicky Etchells - Director of Podcasts

Artwork acknowledgments:

Cathleen Dovolis

Brandon Moore 

B Bowen

Nicholas Fraser

James Morosky

Ava Ryan

This is the story of the social media app that changed the face of the internet before it crashed and burned in just three short years. Vine was the future - until it wasn’t. How did a platform so popular and beloved just disappear? Like any self-respecting chronically-online person, Benedict Townsend needed answers. In this 8-part series he tracks down Vine’s founders, social media power players and some of the most famous Vine creators to find out what really happened. What he found? A bizarre story of genius, chaos, and betrayal—and the blueprint for everything that came next. If you want to understand TikTok, or the modern internet itself, you need to understand Vine.

Contact us: [email protected]

• No. of episodes: 7
• Latest episode: 2025-04-29
• Society & Culture History

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