Almost all of Vine’s top product and business executives have departed the company in recent months, according to Recode, compounding reports that the micro-video service is also experiencing a defection by some of its top homegrown influencers to competing platforms.
Many of the executive departures coincide with the appointment of Vine’s new general manager, Hannah Donovan, who joined the company in May from music-centric social network Drip. Recode claims that Vine’s head of engineering, Benjamin Sheats; head of business development and operations, Meghan Malaviya; head of user experience, Jason Mante; editorial lead Ankur Thakkar; head of data science and user insights, Robbie Dunnette; and three of its product managers — Adam Feldman, Brittany Mennuti, and Bryant Detwiller — have all departed the company over the past four months.
“This year we’re focused on delivering on five product priorities – refining our core service, live-streaming video, creators, safety, and developers – as well as recruiting great talent,” Twitter, which owns Vine, told Recode in a statement. “Vine is an important part of our strategy, particularly given its vibrant community of creators, and we’re excited about what the future holds with new leadership.”
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Recode also claims that Vine’s total user base — which it has pegged at 200 million since last October — is no longer growing. In May, reports suggested that many creators who had risen to fame on Vine were migrating to YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat in search of larger audiences and monetization opportunities.
The executive overhaul coincides with several new product and strategy initiatives that Vine has piloted in recent weeks. Last month, Vine said it would allow a small group of creators to post videos that are longer than six seconds, thus paving the way toward monetization opportunities. The company also premiered its first long-form original series, Camp Unplug, starring popular Viners Lauren Giraldo and Cody Ko, and premiered an entire episode of the Adult Swim cartoon Harg Nallin Sclopio Peepio.
