Divine, the Vine Reboot, is Now Open to Everyone

Divine, the highly anticipated Vine reboot, has officially dropped its invite-only requirement, allowing anyone to join and experience the nostalgia of the original 6-second video-sharing platform.

Source: engadget.com

Developed by one of Twitter’s earliest employees, Evan ‘Rabble’ Henshaw-Plath, Divine has been in the works for some time, and its public launch is a significant milestone for the project. The app has been available in invitation-only mode for over three months, and now, it’s open to everyone, without the need for an invite code.

Divine’s growth is largely due to its reliance on the same 6-second looping video format that made Vine so popular nearly a decade ago. The app has a ‘classic’ feed featuring clips from Vine’s original archive, which has managed to restore over 2 million original videos. This is a testament to the enduring appeal of the original platform and its unique video-sharing format.

Key Features of Divine

Divine boasts several features that differentiate it from other social media platforms. One of the most notable aspects is its decentralized architecture, powered by the open-source nostr protocol, which ensures a safer and more secure user experience. Additionally, the app is designed to provide a safe haven from AI-generated content, allowing users to share videos recorded using the in-app camera and leveraging built-in AI detection tools for added verification.

The result is an app that feels both familiar and unique, with ‘lots of weird stuff’ that sets it apart from other social media platforms. As Henshaw-Plath notes, ‘A whole bunch of what you see on social media is people clipping content and moving it around between things.’ This is not the case with Divine, where users can only share videos that were recorded within the app, ensuring a more authentic and engaging user experience.

Divine’s creator is also thinking about how the app can provide creators with the kinds of monetization tools that were never available on Vine. As Henshaw-Plath notes, ‘We don’t know exactly how it’s all going to work, but we do know that as creators grow, as they build an audience, they want the ability to make money.’ This is a significant step forward for the platform, as it acknowledges the importance of supporting creators and providing them with the tools they need to succeed.

The Rise of Nostalgia

Divine’s public launch comes at a time when there’s increasing nostalgia for ‘old’ social media platforms. The recent documentary about Myspace has sparked weeks of headlines and speculation about a potential comeback, although no specific plans have been announced. Smaller apps have also tried to recreate the vibes and simplicity of early social media, and Divine is likely to benefit from this nostalgia.

Henshaw-Plath suspects that some of this nostalgia is driven by the ‘hope and excitement’ once associated with social media. As he notes, ‘With Divine, our theory is that part of the problem is that we centralize power in a few people’s control.’ The solution, he believes, lies in decentralizing power and empowering users to create and share content in a more authentic and engaging way.