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Vine to close

Twitter announced today (27 October 2016) its intention to close the video sharing service Vine, following an announcement to cut 9% of its workforce.  

Vine was purchased in 2012 for a reported $30m.  But, since Twitter also runs the live streaming service Periscope, Vine has been allowed to wither.

“Nothing is happening to the apps, website or your Vines today,” Twitter said, via its blog.

“You’ll be able to access and download your Vines. We’ll be keeping the website online because we think it’s important to still be able to watch all the incredible Vines that have been made.  You will be notified before we make any changes to the app or website.”

Despite Twitter’s 2015 purchase of Periscope, the company faces significant competition in the fast-growing video sector of the social media market:

  • Google has owned YouTube since 2005 and seen it grow into the most-used video sharing site
  • Facebook introduced live streaming in 2015 and rolled out Facebook Live to users from January 2016
  • Instagram launched 15-second videos in 2013 and increased to 60-seconds in 2016 – with live video rumoured to be next up
  • Snapchat, launched in the summer of 2012 and serving video since later that same year

It remains to be seen whether Twitter will be forced into future cuts, following the release of its Q3 numbers and rumours that it has failed to find a buyer in either Google or Salesforce.  But with an 8% increase in three-month revenue to $616m and a 3% increase in monthly users to 317m, Twitter still looks in a good position to exploit video, using the fast-growing Periscope platform.

Do you use live video in your social media marketing? Which applications work best for you? Do you need help in adding live video to your social media marketing mix? Let us know.