I wake to a notification; Vine is back. My Zillennial heart soars, tears begin to form as I whisper under my breath, "We are so back." While the internet moved on with Reels and TikTok brainrot, a part of my soul still rests in the early 2010s when 6-second videos were my entire sense of humour. I am elated, but then reality hits.
What will this new era look like? Surely it can't come close to the golden age of Vine? With a new logo design, a (questionable) new name and a whole new generation of Zoomers and Gen Alphas to impress, can a reinvigorated brand identity really revive an entire internet era, or should we have let Vine rest in peace?
Vine is back, sort of...
So when I said Vine was back, I lied (sort of). Like a slightly dated-looking phoenix, the app has risen from the ashes under the new name, Divine, with an ickworthy logo that not even nostalgia can save. While the Vine logo was fine back in the 2010's, the design has since become slightly cheugy, so I'm amazed that its revival didn't come with at least a slight visual revamp.
Article continues belowWhat is essentially the old wordmark with 'di' bodged to the front of it, the new Divine logo features the classic cursive style 'V', paired with a clean sans serif that does the job. Whether it's the strange, slightly sickly shade of green or the Canva-esque feel, the Divine logo feels like a stylistic regression that would've benefited from a modern rebrand to signify the app's new era.
A new icon logo brings a slight flavour of reinvention, featuring a white play button with a halo and angel wings. While it's a safe choice, it has a playfulness and character thanks to its 3D design, bringing a lightness and optimism to the new branding.
A stop to the AI slop
In a press release, Divine outlined its new business model, with a heavy focus on creator ownership and human-made content. Aiming to foster a "place for authentic, non-AI-generated media," Divine brings a grand promise of a slop-free platform "focused on creativity and constraint over engagement for an ad algorithm".
Using a Cryptographic Video Authenticity model, each video will be subject to a "notarization" layer to help audiences distinguish real content. "It is no secret that we didn't find a business model for Vine," says Twitter co-founder, businessman and now Divine grant funder, Jack Dorsey. "A founding principle for Divine is that creators will always be in full control of their content and followers, enabling them to create and grow their own revenue streams. I anticipate that Divine will provide a host of tools and services to support the growth of the creator economy," he explains.
Big promises, cautious excitement
While Divine is currently available via the App Store and Google Play, it's working on an invite-only basis to build up a community of trusted creators, including Vine OGs like Lele Pons, JimmyHere, MightyDuck, and Jack and Jack (not my first choices, but alas). It has already restored over 500,000 archived Vine videos, so there's plenty of nostalgia bait to sink your teeth into before the general public is allowed to get their claws into the app – that's when the real show will start.
While I'm excited for this new evolution, I'm approaching with caution. It all feels a little kumbaya at the moment, and until the app is unleashed to the layperson, I think it'll be tough to tell how it will develop. A slop-free app sounds blissful, but the jaded part of my soul struggles to believe it can be prevented. Like a doting wife whose husband has returned from the war a changed man, I cannot help but feel that things will never be the same, but Vine, I still love you.
For more social media news, check out why Instagram's viral flash filter might be more sinister than it seems or take a look at the history of the TikTok logo.
