Vine, the once popular video-sharing platform, has been out of the online discussion for a while (and we miss it!). After Twitter discontinued Vine, many popular Viners had to switch to other social media platforms. We got in touch with Bostonian comedian, now relocated to Los Angeles, and former Viner Ry Doon to get his thoughts on current social media trends.

Ry jumpstarted his career on Vine and attracted huge following with his funny skits and impressions. After Vine was shut down, Ry had to switch to other platforms and relocate himself on social media. Once being one of the most recognized Viners, with nearly 4 million followers, Ry is now focusing on his career as a comedian and growing his presence on social media.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWqV0dQgCxp/?taken-by=rydoon&hl=en

What did you do before Vine?

I was taking classes to go to nursing school. I finished college with a degree in sociology, and then worked as a landscaper for a few years; my plan was to be a landscape architect, a landscape designer. All the while, my dream was to be a working musician; I’ve been playing live music since I was 13. I can play the saxophone; I’m a singer and a beatboxer. I was in bands at the time. But, I quit that and I was about to go to nursing school; I was taking prerequisites to go to nursing school. Right before Vine, I was doing stand-up, working part-time as a dog-walker, and I was taking night classes for nursing.

How did you get started on Vine? Were you expecting the popularity and the attention you were getting? Did you have a specific plan going into it?

No. I heard about Vine on Joe Rogan’s podcast, he talked about it briefly when it first came out. I just wanted to try it out and see if I was funny. I had a lot of creative ideas I wanted to get out. I started it just for fun, making myself laugh and making my friends laugh, my family laugh. When actual celebrities started using Vine, I thought for sure that they would dominate Vine. When I hit about 10,000 followers, I knew that this could be something. I got most of my followers within the app. Some of my content got to the top of the popular page. I also had a few Vines gone viral on Youtube. I was one of the Viners that everyone told their friends to follow. I was lucky in that.

You mentioned that you were doing stand-up comedy before. Did this platform help you to jumpstart your career as a comedian?

Totally. I had a very fast track for stand-up. I started doing stand-up 3 months before Vine came out. After that I started getting recognized at open mics, but I was still awful at stand-up. That was a plus for me; but I was able to book shows sooner, even sooner than I was ready for. Venues would have me on, because I could sell tickets. I sold out a huge club my first year of stand-up, which was ridiculous. Now people in the industry know my name and know about me. It definitely helped, a ton.

Does being from Boston influence your style or your work?

Yeah, definitely. I grew up near Cape Cod and I lived in Boston for about 10 years. I used to do Boston characters on Vine, with the Boston Accent. Boston breeds so many funny people. I think it’s because of the harsh winters. We go through so much pain. I think people on the east coast, we struggle more, strictly just for climate. That makes us funnier; funnier because I had funny friends and funny family.

What inspired you to make the character Cathy, your alternative personality on Vine?

Cathy’s voice is an impression of my dad’s ex-wife. I exaggerated a little bit, but the real Cathy does talk like that, and she would always annoy me (laughs). But the typical gesture and her personality are pretty much nothing like the real Cathy — I just took her voice. That’s inspired by Mike Myers; he had a sketch on SNL in the 90s called “Coffee Talk.” For a while when I was playing Cathy, I’d reference the friend named Barbara, then I realized I took that, without knowing, from Mike Myer’s skit. His character loved Barbara Streisand.

After Vine got shut down, you had to relocate your main outlet. Was it difficult for you to switch platforms? Did you have a smooth transition?

I regret not shouting out my Instagram more on Vine. A lot of Viners would just be like, “Hey guys, follow me on Instagram.” The Vine audience hated that, so I only did it a few times. Now I wish I did it more, since I only have about 186k followers on Instagram right now. I mean, I can still work with brands and make a living from promoting brands on social media but I regret not pushing people over to my Instagram more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7qAPvWxrMM

Recently, many former Viners like Jake Paul are making waves on Youtube, getting millions of views on a daily basis. Has this phenomenon influenced your creative process?

Youtube, as a whole, is harder to grow than Vine. It’s quite simple to follow on Vine, you just press the “follow” button. On Youtube, you’ll have to sit through a five-minute video before you decide whether to follow the channel and subscribe. People don’t respond that great to sketches on Youtube. They respond more to a personality, and I’m more of a sketch guy. Youtube is just a lot slower to grow than Vine. Right now, what’s trending is vlogs, and just showing your personality, but I’m more of a character and now showing my personality.

What are the next steps for your career? Do you have a plan of where you want to go from here?

My long-term plan is to keep doing stand-up, and eventually become one of the best comedians in the country. That will probably takes a good ten years and I’m like 4 years in. My short-term goal is to attempt to kill it on Instagram. Even though I’m not at the moment, make a living, people still think I’m cool.

Metter Media LLC is a Boston-based social media management company that implements community-based, localized social engagement strategies for small businesses and corporations alike. Need help with your social media? Email Lauren today.