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Why Twitter killed off Vine after a short-lived run

Vine's seemingly endless loop is looping no more.

Alfred Ng Senior Reporter / CNET News
Alfred Ng was a senior reporter for CNET News. He was raised in Brooklyn and previously worked on the New York Daily News's social media and breaking news teams.
Alfred Ng
2 min read
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RIP, Vine, the world hardly knew you.

Twitter

At least it lasted longer than six seconds.

The popular microvideo platform that Twitter scooped up in 2012 is headed for an abrupt ending, as Vine announced in a blog post Thursday morning that it would be shutting down its app.

Vine was a widely used app where videos looped and were limited to 6-second clips, pioneering a short-form video style for social media, which was later adopted by Snapchat and Instagram.

Though the app is shutting down, dedicated users will still be able to access and download Vines on the service's website -- they just won't be able to upload any new clips.

"Thank you for taking a chance on this app back in the day," Vine wrote in its post.

Twitter had placed a big bet on Vine in 2012, purchasing the startup in a $30 million deal six months before it even launched.

Since then, Vine had given rise to a new crop of internet darlings, who rose to fame through six second clips. Shortly after news of the shutdown broke, Vine's founder, Rus Yusupov, spoke out against the decision.

The news comes just hours after Twitter posted its third-quarter earnings and laid off 9 percent of its work force, axing about 350 people. Vine's death came as a part of Twitter's restructuring, the company said in an email.

Despite dark clouds looming over a sale of Twitter, the company posted surprisingly strong profit with its push for live-streaming content.

During its earnings call Thursday, the company highlighted its push for profitability.

"We intend to fully invest in our highest priorities and are de-prioritizing certain initiatives," Twitter said in a statement.

The company said it would reorganize its sales, partnerships and marketing efforts, but it gave no hints that it was killing off Vine during the announcement.

As the news of Vine's death arrived, social media held an unofficial eulogy for the beloved but short-lived app.

Here are some of Vine's finest moments:

An accurate representation of all of Vine's fanbase after the news broke:

WHAT ARE THOSE? For a while, no one was safe from shoe-shaming on social media.

But it wasn't always sneaker-shaming. Just ask Daniel Lara, who found internet fame thanks to his fans. Damn, Daniel.

Vine also played a big role with the 2016 election, just ask Larry David or New Jersey governor Chris Christie.

Where is the internet going to get its endless stream of memes like the Running Man Challenge now?

For anyone who doubted that you could strike comedic gold within six seconds:

And finally, one last time, do it for the Vine.

What were some of your favorite Vine moments?

Updated at 10 a.m. PT to include some of Vine's finest moments before its death and at 10:35 a.m. PT to include comments from Twitter and from Vine's founder.