FANS of a certain 2010s app that was loved by millions will be excited to learn it’s making a comeback – but there’s a twist.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has announced his plans on Thursday to bring back Vine.
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Musk brings back Vine
Musk took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter which he bought in 2022, to share the news which has divided Vine-nostalgics and creatives.
In his post on Thursday, he simply wrote: “we’re bringing back Vine, but in AI form.”
This is not the first time Musk has spoken about his desire to bring back the nostalgic 2010s app, asking X users in 2022 whether they would want to see it return.
While he shared little detail on what the new Vine could look like, he was clear that it would be different from its predecessor, namely due to the use of AI.
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Fan backlash
Since the announcement on X, fans have been divided by the news.
The post, within the first 24 hours, received more than 150,000 likes and over 15,000 comments, with X users debating whether they were happy with the billionaire’s latest venture.
One X user commented: “AI + short-form video = future of content.”
Another said: “Vine isn’t Vine without human creativity. AI doesn’t create anything new.”
While another revealed their concerns: “So a bunch of short AI-generated clips to keep people sucked into their phones even more.”
The use of AI in social media is not unheard of, with TikTok users already able to watch content created with artificial intelligence.
X also implemented AI through its Grok chatbot, but last month, Musk received backlash after it had been seen to praise Hitler.
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The reason Vine closed
Vine was a fan favourite amongst short-form content lovers in the 2010s, after it opened in 2012.
The creators of the app, Dom Hofmann, Rus Yusupov, and Colin Kroll, quickly sold the product to then-Twitter owner Jack Dorsey for a reported $30 million,
It was an instant hit and quickly garnered over 200 million active users after Twitter allowed users to share Vine content with their followers.
However, in 2017, the app was shut down after internal struggles, including pay for creators and a lack of investments, leading to all the videos on the platform being archived and becoming inaccessible.
In its time, Vine saw the birth of careers from stars still present in popular culture, including singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes, internet personality Jake Paul and actor Andrew King Bachelor.
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While TikTok has had the similar effect with stars like Addison Rae and Charli D’Amelio, many have been calling for a return of the good old Vine days.
