Can We Bring Vine Back From the Dead?

Is 2026 the new 2016? Back then, we didn't know that Facebook could win or lose elections, and become weaponized, that Gamergate-style harassment would take over politics, or that we were about to lose the creative, absurd, and sometimes brilliant short-form video platform Vine. Here's the good news: We're going to try to recapture the magic of Vine. Rabble’s new app, Divine, is available now at Divine.video and the links below. To celebrate Divine's launch, we brought back two of our favorite podcast guests: journalist & founder of User Mag, Taylor Lorenz; and the host of the podcast "There Are No Girls on the Internet," Bridget Todd. They talk with Rabble about the rise of Vine, why it failed as a business and got shut down by Twitter, and how that rise & fall rippled throughout the creator economy. Taylor & Bridget have spent years documenting the evolution of social platforms from the inside out, and Rabble adds some behind the scenes color about the big brains and egos at Twitter. They also talk about what makes Divine different from Vine and existing apps like TikTok and Snapchat. Here's to a joyful, creative, open internet. Join us on Divine! The link to download the app is below. Download the app: App Store Google Play ZapStore Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:42 The Rise and Impact of Vine 04:05 Simplicity and the Outward-Facing Camera 07:02 Evolution of the Proto-Influencer 11:27 Black Culture and Subverting Power Dynamics 15:08 Curation vs Algorithmic Feeds 20:21 Why Vine Collapsed 23:27 The Culture Gap Between Tech and Creators 28:13 Competition and the Birth of TikTok 33:14 Hope and the Future of Social Media 38:42 Decentralization and User Control 50:26 Bridging Humanity and Technology Taylor’s Substack, User Mag Her podcast, “Power User” Bridget’s Instagram Her podcast, “There Are No Girls on the Internet” Follow Rabble on Bluesky Follow the podcast This episode was produced and edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm, and executive produced by Alice Chan from Flock Marketing. To learn more about Rabble’s Social Media Bill of Rights, and sign up for our newsletter, visit https://revolution.social/