Twitter is shutting down its Vine short-form video service amid other cost-cutting measures at the social media company which is bleeding money and struggling to find a buyer.
Vine will be discontinuing its mobile app "in the coming months," with no specific date set at this point, according to a blog post on , which is owned by Twitter co-founder Evan Williams.
"Nothing is happening to the apps, website or your Vines today," says the post, which is signed by Team Vine and Twitter. It adds that the Vine website will remain online and users will still be able to access and download videos.
Vine users will be notified through the app before any changes are made, the post says.
The announcement comes as Twitter moves to slash 9 per cent of its workforce worldwide. Shares in the company fell 27 per cent over the last month, though they bounced back by 4 per cent after the job cuts were announced this week.
Vine stars
Vine, which allows users to record and loop up to six seconds of video, launched back in 2013. The service was popular for a variety of uses, including sports highlights, humour, viral moments and musical performances. It has helped produce some big stars.
Canadian pop star , for instance, launched his career with a Vine video that went viral.
Ruth B., a singer from Edmonton, is another Vine star. She started posting videos on the app in 2013. Soon after, her videos gained popularity and she signed on with Columbia Records.
Michael and Carissa Rae Alvarado, a husband-and-wife folk-pop duo, make up Us the Duo. The pair gained fans on Vine and are now signed with Republic Records.
Canadian Ryan Gosling also became an unintentional Vine "star" for the "Ryan won't eat his cereal" series of videos. In the videos, a person watching Ryan Gosling movies on TV pretends to offer the actor cereal when he appears on screen.
O Vine vai fechar, mas precisamos salvar essas obras primas - Ryan Gosling won't eat his cereal:
— Valter Nascimento (@ValterNasco)
Ryan Gosling won’t eat his cereal
— Not Macklemore (@killadelfkid)
Social media reacts to Vine's demise
Twitter announced Vine's demise on Thursday at noon, triggering a wave of disappointment online. More than 1.65 million tweets about Vine were sent out from noon until 1pm ET, as users mourned the eventual end of the service. Many eulogized its demise with "sad face" emojis accompanying their favourite Vine clips.
RIP Vine
— CLOUD N9NE SYRUP™ (@CloudN9neSyrup)
RIP Vine
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur)
today I pay my respects to the best vine ever made
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes)
Vine is more popular today on Twitter than it ever was on Vine.
— Oshry @ Home (@DaveOshry)
If only Twitter could turn such a thing into... you know... profits!
But what are we gonna do with all the Vine stars!?
— Randy Liedtke (@randyliedtke)
Dang, Vine gettin killed off. Hope all the creators are able to pivot.
— Motonosity (@Motonosity)
omg @ vine getting shut down?? how are we going to share important content like this??
— Tyler Oakley (@tyleroakley)
On our way to 's wake:
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians)
We're gonna miss you, .
— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall)
Just heard the news about Vine. There is only one that needs to be remembered.
— Stephen Port (@realstephenport)
One of our favorite Vines.
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons)