Life After Vine - #TRT

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Halloween just ended, but scarier than any costume was the news of Vine's demise five days ago.  Okay, so maybe the news only spooked Vine stars and social media managers. And truly, it didn't come as much of a shock. The app may have temporarily taken online communities down with it, but one thing's for sure: as always, the internet has new plans.

Vine provided a platform for online humor, but was mainly regarded for its community building. The platform's audience was young, niche and multi-tasking with longer-form Youtube videos. As Facebook threatens to swipe Vine and Snapchat's audience, it's no wonder we see well-loved apps closing up shop. In fact, the average American downloads zero apps per month , as the app bubble closes and forces the tech industry to get scrappy.

The industry used to be all about doing one thing, doing it well, and staying consistently true. Now, all this talk (and action, to be fair) about the app bubble popping has changed the game. Instagram is functioning as Instagram, Vine and Snapchat all-in-one. Facebook is filled with secret community forums, family photo albums and weirdly, still Farmville. 

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Still, there's one Facebook offering in particular that could replace and evolve into the new Vine. That feature is (you guessed it) Facebook Live. The feature took a while to catch on, but more and more, early adopters and tastemakers are finding creative uses for live-streaming. One notable and recent example would be the musicians behind Disclosure. In the past few months they've gone live (Facebook Live) with not one, but two DJ sets (both over two hours) from the comfort of their kitchen. With thousands of viewers tuning in, their audience was engaged and participating from their desk at work or their walk home from class.

Luckily for Twitter (who just finished burying Vine), they invested in Periscope, making live-streaming a natural next step. The best decision Twitter could make at this point would be merging Twitter and Periscope into one app with multi-capabilities. Speaking of, Twitter has already partnered with the Melbourne Cup to stream the athletic event - you guessed it - live. The new, sexy live-streaming space will undoubtedly change the way we watch award shows, sporting events and (down the line) probably television.

Of course, new streaming capabilities like Facebook Live are also populated by your wine-drunk aunt or ex-classmate who would like to share personal, political commentary. Those experiences can be just as charming, and you can bet they have the ability to go just as viral as your favorite Vine. 

Emily Kealey