Today, short videos dominate our free time (and work time), but this wasn't always the case. Before TikTok and Instagram Reels, online video content was more long-form than not. This might seem short by cable TV standards, but many videos on platforms like YouTube typically lasted between two and 10 minutes, if not longer.
The first platform to truly popularize short-form content as we now think of it was Vine. These videos were short-A maximum six seconds at a time, which should have meant the death of the platform. Who wants to watch these tiny videos for hours on end? Many of us, apparently. Vin compilations receive millions (if not tens of millions) of views on YouTube. Although the Twitter-owned platform only lasted about five years, it has established itself as a true cultural phenomenon. Quote the first half of a popular Vine to a group of young millennials or Gen Z, and chances are they'll complete the line.
For years, we Vine fans have been yearning for someone to bring back the app. Of course, short videos have never been so addictive, but it’s not the same anymore. Videos on Vine are very different from most of the content you see on TikTok. Perhaps it was the limited operating time; Perhaps it's due to the stripped-down recording interface. But to me, Vine feels like early YouTube: homey, indie, and fun.
The Divine is the new vine
It seems that the experience may indeed return. New application, Divinetries to recreate the magic of these six-second cycles. Created by former Twitter employee Evan Henshaw-Plath and funded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Divine is intended to be a platform for sharing old and new vines. Sure, you can upload fresh six-second clips, but the app will also contain between 150,000 and 200,000 “archived” vines from around 60,000 creators. You no longer have to rely on Vine compilations – you can watch these classic clips directly on Divine.
These videos are also not taken from YouTube compilations. According to TechCrunchVine's original library was kept by the Archives Team in a huge but virtually inaccessible archive. Henshaw-Plath combed through the library, extracting as much data as possible to create profiles for original Vine accounts and display metrics such as views and original comments. While not all Vines have been archived, including “millions of K-pop videos,” Henshaw-Plath believes a “good percentage” is available on Divine. Vine creators can either remove their videos from Divine or take over their profiles on the app if they verify their identity.
What are your thoughts so far?
Divine is also a decentralized social media platform. works according to the Nostr protocol. This means that no company owns it, which means your content is your content. When you post a video, your videos are linked to you using private keys, so you can always prove ownership. In addition, there are no custom algorithms. You will have to choose what you want to watch or use the algorithm created by the Divine Community.
My favorite part of this experiment though? No AI. At a time when other social media platforms are flooded hyper-realistic videos from generators like SoraDivine has a strict no-AI policy. Divine uses Guardian Project technology to confirm whether a video was filmed on a smartphone. If the system detects that the video is artificial, it will be deleted. It's enough to make this tech editor cry (happily).
How to join the Divine
As you might expect, there are a lot of people wanting to try Divine at launch. For now, the company says its beta testing is complete. However, you can sign up for the waiting list to be notified when more locations open. You can also view clips in the platform web application right now, even without an account, but I found it to be a bit buggy.
