This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at McGill chapter.

In the past week, we didn’t hear much about anything unrelated to the US election or Halloween. However, in a shocking turn of events, Twitter announced it would be shutting down Vine, a smartphone app best known for popularizing 6 second or less video loops. In a statement to Buzzfeed News, top creator Cody Johns expressed his gratitude for the company, which served as a means of self-expression to many, and even a springboard to viral fame for some: “It was a simple, fun, creative platform where we won the hearts of millions of fans.”

The decision to end Vine supposedly came after an extended rough patch for the app, where they faced, amongst many other issues, lower usage, declining popularity, and departures within the company. One big problem was it struggled to compete against other apps that eventually added similar video features, like Instagram. The app, only created in 2013, will be shutting down over the course of the next few months. The company ensured users in a letter on its site that Vines created over the years would still be around for our viewing/procrastinating pleasure on their site, which will remain active, but without the option of creating new content.

This announcement also came as quite a shock to its users, who seemed to be unaware of the seriousness of Vine’s recent declines in membership and usage. Vine has blessed us with many prevalent developments in pop culture today, from successful singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes to the Harlem Shake of 2013.

The big question is whether or not the end of Vine could signal trouble for other social media apps, especially its parent company Twitter. The Buzzfeed News report from Thursday also mentioned that Twitter laid off a total of 350 people, with Vine’s small New York based team of 50 rumored to be included in that group. Rumors of instability within Vine and Twitter, and a failure to continue bringing in money from advertisement opportunities that we see on Instagram and even Snapchat also played significant roles in Vine’s death. These failures also mark warning signs that can cause serious trouble for other apps.

The discontinuation of Vine has left many without an outlet for creative expression. Even though apps like Instagram have also adopted Vine’s short-form video format, many devoted users feel heartbroken at the loss of the app. Co-founder Dom Hofmann compared the death of the app to “the band breaking up and going solo” because the most important part of Vine for him and the users was the people who were a part of it, and the online community of creators it formed.

In loving memory of Vine and the moments of cultural significance it helped create, this article concludes with an in memoriam montage of sorts: one of the most memorable Vines (according to The Best Vines’ YouTube page), and one memorializing one of Vine’s breakthrough moments, the Harlem Shake.