Elon Musk Hints At The Return Of Vine, But Is It Too Late?

Remember Vine? The Twitter-owned short-form video-sharing platform that was discontinued nearly seven years ago, in 2017? Well, Elon Musk, the current owner of Twitter (now known as X), may have just hinted at a possible return of the service. In a recent poll posted on X, the eccentric billionaire asked his 180 million followers whether they wanted the old service back. As of publishing this article, an overwhelming majority (70%) had voted yes, implying they wanted Vine to return. 

Bring back Vine?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 17, 2024

It is too early to say whether Musk is serious about his plans to resurrect Vine. This is because it's not the first time Musk has asked the same question on X. Nearly two years ago, in October 2022, Musk asked his followers whether they wanted the service back. Like today, nearly 70% of the poll respondents voted yes. The post even received a reply from popular YouTuber Mr. Beast. Unfortunately to some, that was the last time we heard about a possible resurrection of Vine, until today, that is.

Short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels may all be the rage, but long before the arrival and eventual dominance of these services, the app that could well be described as a pioneer of the segment was Vine. Vine was a massively popular short video-sharing platform that started its life in 2012. Within months of its launch, it grew massively in popularity, resulting in its eventual purchase by Twitter, which bought it for a reported $30 million.

Twitter ran Vine as a separate service for five years (from 2012 to 2017) until the company decided to pull the plug on the service, citing a lack of monetization options. In addition, challenges from increasing competition by Instagram and Snapchat, which had by then also introduced Vine-inspired features, created a competitive landscape.

In hindsight, Twitter's decision to pull the plug on Vine may have been premature, given the massive popularity platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok have today. And given that the platform was the pioneer of the segment, there was every bit of a chance that Vine would have been what these apps eventually became. 

There is no denying that Vine was the pioneer of the short-form video format and that the platform played a significant role in popularizing it. However, its seven-year hiatus from space might be a hurdle too high to overcome. In the seven years since Vine shut down, competition has only intensified, with some apps growing to become true behemoths. 

As of 2024, TikTok is among the most popular apps in the U.S., which alone accounts for nearly 150 million users. Similarly, Instagram Reels has also grown in popularity and generates massive viewership from countries like India, where TikTok has been banned since 2020. Not to be left behind, even Google entered the short-form video-sharing trend with the launch of YouTube Shorts.

Given the saturation levels in the short-form video space, it would be interesting to see if a resurrected Vine app really has the ability to create a sizable impact. That being said, if Vine does indeed make a comeback in 2024, its success may depend on how well Elon Musk promotes the platform and how good of a platform it really is compared to what is currently available for consumers.