Vidme

In this article, we will address the topic of Vidme, which has been the subject of interest and debate in different areas. Vidme is a topic that has captured the attention of specialists and the general public, generating conflicting opinions and deep reflections. Throughout history, Vidme has been the subject of study, analysis and controversy, demonstrating its relevance and impact on society. Through this article, we will explore different perspectives on Vidme, as well as its influence on different aspects of everyday life. It is essential to understand the importance of this issue and its implication in our present reality, which is why it is necessary to approach it from a critical and reflective perspective.

Vidme
Type of site
Video hosting service
Available inEnglish
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
,
U.S.
OwnerBit Kitchen
URLVid.me
LaunchedJanuary 22, 2014 (2014-01-22)
Current statusClosed since December 15, 2017 (2017-12-15)

Vidme was a video hosting service that launched to the public in 2014.[1] It described itself as a hybrid between video hosting website YouTube and social news site Reddit.[1] It shut down in 2017.

History

The company was founded in 2014 by Warren Shaeffer and Alex Benzer in Los Angeles, California, and was originally called Viddme. After gaining in popularity, Vidme purchased the domain for Vidme and changed its name.[2] In April 2015, the site received a $3.2 million Series A round of funding.[3][4] Investors in the seed round included Mark Suster of Upfront Ventures and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. As of April 2015, Vidme had 30 million unique visitors per month.[4] The following year, it received a $6 million round.[5]

Closure

On December 1, 2017, after nearly four years of operation, Vidme announced on Reddit it would shut down on December 15, 2017. Vidme stopped accepting new uploads or new members at that time. The site's closure was due to, according to the company, not finding a sustainable model and due to an increase in competition.[6][7] In particular, Google (through YouTube), Facebook, and Instagram were named by co-founder Warren Shaeffer as too competitive for Vidme.[8][9]

On their website, the team announced that they would be launching a new website called Digital Objects (digitalobjects.art), which later was discontinued.[10]

Vidme was acquired by Giphy[11] and shortly after Bit Kitchen was renamed to Knowable once it was launched.

In July 2021, the Vid.me domain name was acquired by a pornography company. As a result, news articles and social media posts with an embedded Vidme video instead displayed hardcore pornography. The Washington Post, New York Magazine and The Guardian were some of the major news sites that were affected.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Spangler, Todd (December 13, 2016). "Startup Vidme Raises $6 Million to Build 'YouTube-Reddit' Hybrid". Variety. Archived from the original on May 15, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  2. ^ Perez, Sarah (January 17, 2014). "Vidme Brings Anonymous Video Sharing To Web, iPhone & Android". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on November 18, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  3. ^ Kiberd, Roisin (June 14, 2017). "Vidme Is the Latest Challenger to YouTube's Dominance". Motherboard. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Perez, Sarah (April 7, 2015). "Vidme, An Imgur For Video, Grabs $3.2 Million". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  5. ^ Weiss, Geoff (December 13, 2016). "Vidme, A Cross Between YouTube And Reddit, Raises $6 Million In New Funding". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  6. ^ Shaeffer, Warren (December 1, 2017). "Goodbye for now". Vidme. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017 – via Medium.
  7. ^ Shah, Saqib (December 4, 2017). "Vidme's YouTube-meets-Reddit video service is no more". Engadget. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  8. ^ Spangler, Todd (December 1, 2017). "Vidme Shuts Down User-Generated Video Service, Citing Inability to Compete With Google, Facebook". Variety. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  9. ^ "Vidme's YouTube-meets-Reddit video service is no more". Engadget. December 4, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "Digital Objects". June 29, 2020. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Shaeffer, Warren (August 6, 2019). "Goodbye for now". Medium. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  12. ^ Gault, Matthew (July 22, 2021). "A Defunct Video Hosting Site Is Flooding Normal Websites With Hardcore Porn". Vice. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  13. ^ Jankowicz, Mia (July 23, 2021). "Mainstream sites were left displaying hardcore porn after an expired domain redirected to X-rated videos". Business Insider.