These clips, they argued, would keep the public interested in the service. If the team declined, each of the 'stars' would naturally transition to rival platforms, where audiences and money-making opportunities are greater. The group demanded some product changes too, including better comment filtering for overly negative and harassing viewers. (Vine eventually rolled this out, according to one user, but it was "too little, too late.") Ultimately, the company turned down the deal, trudging along the path that led to last week's sad but not all that surprising decision.

Would the proposal have changed its fate? Probably not, however the fact it was deliberated at all shows just how much power social media "influncers" can wield, particularly when their platform is struggling.