Vine is quickly becoming one of the world’s most downloaded apps, carving out a unique online identity. In this episode, some of Vine’s earliest creators share how luck, form, and strategy determined viral success and how they navigated the uncharted waters of online fame.Credits:Benedict Townsend - Host & CreatorMary Goodhart - Producer & CreatorKevyah Cardoso - Narrative & Creative ProducerPatrick Lee - Sound Design & ScoreChris Janes - MixLucy Chisholm Batten - LegalSophie Snelling - Executive ProducerAl Riddel - Head of Factual PodcastsVicky Etchells - Director of PodcastsArtwork acknowledgments:Cathleen DovolisBrandon Moore B BowenNicholas FraserJames MoroskyAva Ryan
Chapter 1: What is Vine and how did it change the landscape of social media?
This is a Global Player original podcast. Vine is loose. It's unchained. It's broken free. It's out of the bag, out of the bottle, out of control. Or at least the control of its inventors. From the minds of tech masters into the hands of ordinary people. And Vine's biggest stars were often the most ordinary people you could meet.
In the sea of initial experimentation, certain faces began to rise to the top, cutting through the noise and the odd stop motion to become Vine's first wave of stars. The key was finding a niche, nailing it, and viewers would keep coming back for more. And in the sleepy town of Dover, Kent, Aaron Kraskle was carving out a very particular niche all of his own.
Chapter 2: Who were the first stars of Vine?
Hello, mate. I need your help. Now I've been helping Charlotte's nan doing the chores. She offered me 50 pounds to kiss her. Yeah, I did twice. She didn't even have her teeth in.
If you're British, you'll know Aaron Craskell's face. And because his fame was built on his willingness to shout out the most inappropriate thing he could think of in a public place while pretending to be on the phone, you'll probably know his voice as well.
I was in Morrison's in like 2014 and I'd done a sketch where the peanut butter was out of stock. And I remember going, oh, God. And then when I watched it, I thought, oh, my God, what are you doing, Aaron? This is so stupid. And when I opened my phone and watched it, behind me was an old woman. She went, when I did, oh, God, like that. And I thought, oh, my God.
I've just got a reaction from someone by making a loud noise. Then I started trialling it. So I started going out and going, meow, making silly noises. And without videoing it, because I could feel people looking at me, that's when I thought, okay, this could be big. Like, if I carry on doing this and being the loud guy in public...
i'm looking for a jimmy or a jonathan hello and no one has no one's ever copied it yeah which i like well no one's got the guts they can't they can't do it aaron had the guts of someone with very little left to lose vine wasn't just a new horizon for him it was something of a salvation i i was in and out of jobs i was never happy at school my school life was terrible
I just didn't want to be there. I hated discipline and being told what to do. So as soon as I left school, went to art college, as soon as I was 16, I wanted to be a grown up, smoking, drinking and hanging around with adults and painting for a living. And I was just, I was always a free spirit. I was never locked down anywhere. I was always on the move. I was always rushing around.
I've had so many jobs. I was working in an Indian restaurant, Chinese restaurant at the Palau restaurant. Restaurant, key company, record shops.
I've had so many jobs.
Argos, the co-op. My last job was when I worked at William Hill. I worked at the bookmakers, which if no one knows is where you do horse bets and people gamble. I was going absolutely nowhere. But on Vine, he was going everywhere. Excuse me, I wouldn't eat that. My ex-girlfriend used to eat that and she turned into a right bitch.
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Chapter 3: What inspired Aaron Kraskle to create content on Vine?
He doesn't care if you buy it or not. And so, you know, it's just like taking those experiences and plugging them into like,
The chalky white cliffs of Dover couldn't be more different from the sprawling suburbia of Orange County or the glassy skyline of Toronto. But Aaron, Brandon and Jasmeet still had a lot in common. Artistic spirits, uninspiring jobs and a restless yearning for a creative outlet.
Hey, Kristen Stewart, what time is it?
By contrast, Manon Matthews, best known on Vine for her spot-on Christian Stewart impressions, was already committed to the life of a performer.
I grew up in Los Angeles in the Valley area. And I think I started recording videos on my dad's camcorder where you put the actual VHS tape inside the camcorder. And then I started learning to edit videos. when I was around 12 years old and presenting to my parents.
These days, her dry, irreverent humour has evolved to explore the joys and chaos of first-time motherhood. Congrats on the baby, first and foremost.
Thank you very much. He's seven weeks and 13 pounds, about, and he's the love of my life.
Manon found her comedy calling early. By the time Vine launched, she was in her early 20s and staying afloat through waitressing, but she still hadn't changed course.
And then I started studying improv, comedy improv. And then I started stand up. And in my stand up, I did a Kristen Stewart and Kim Kardashian impression. And so when I got on Vine, I didn't get on Vine to get a following. Obviously, I didn't know that that was a possibility. I just downloaded the app and started having fun with it. It was just like, oh yeah, this is interesting.
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