Former ‘Viners’ find new home in YouTube

The day Vine died, Jan. 17, 2017, due to financial struggles was a day of mourning for the world. The “meme-ories,” creativity, dance moves and all around comedic quality the platform possessed touched the hearts of millions like no other platform could.

After Vine stopped accepting new content, becoming an archive of its famed 6-second videos, many popular “Viners” found themselves homeless in the entertainment industry. Though many of them had switched to other social media sites before Vine had officially ceased operations, the incentive was far greater after Vine was no longer available.

Today, a staggering number of former Viners such as Liza Koshy, David Dobrik and King Bach have switched primarily to YouTube. Posting vlogs, sketches, challenges and much more, the three, as well as many other former Viners, have garnered a fanbase of millions.

Switching to YouTube has proved to be a better option than other social media sites for these creators. The site itself has over 1 billion active monthly users, giving them better potential for growth as content creators. Getting this type of traffic to their respective channels also gives them a higher likelihood of branching out into other aspects of the entertainment industry such as acting or singing.

Since ads and sponsorships are more prevalent on YouTube than they were on Vine, these influencers are able to receive a more consistent income, many making more than they did on Vine.

While income is a huge incentive, YouTube also offers a substantially increased amount of time for videos to run, giving creators more room to convey their ideas and highlight their imagination in each of their videos.

For example, Koshy, who amassed 5 million fans on Vine making short comedic skits that highlighted relatable instances, now has 16 million fans on YouTube and has become one of the most popular faces on social media. On her YouTube channel, she takes many of her ideas that were born on her Vine page and expands them into longer videos, earning millions of views and increased popularity.

Being such a prevalent star on the site has also opened up other opportunities for her, such as her role as Aday Walker in the movie “Boo! A Madea Halloween,” appearances in advertisements for companies such as Beats by Dre and Nordstrom and her own YouTube Red show, “Liza on Demand.”

Students who have followed these celebrities from Vine to Youtube say that taking these steps boosts their  careers..

“[It is] a win-win situation as they are given another opportunity to increase publicity while continuing to make videos,” senior Lawton Fong said.

Though some might consider new Viners coming in YouTube as a disruption, Fong said this integration of new creators only benefits the site and is likely to draw in more people.

Although Vine was once many of these creators’ main platforms, it became merely a starting point for them to launch their careers in social media. And though they continue to communicate with their fans through other means of social media such as Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, YouTube as a website has stood out as a platform that satisfies former Viners’ main needs, making them better recognized members of the entertainment community.