Vine and HQ Trivia co-founder Colin Kroll has been found dead in his New York flat at the age of 34.
Colin Kroll was found by police after his girlfriend reportedly asked them to check on him.
An HQ spokesperson confirmed the death of the CEO “with deep sadness”.
HQ Trivia app, a live trivia game on mobiles, became hugely popular, although its appeal waned this year.
NYPD officers went to Colin Kroll’s flat in Manhattan to carry out a welfare check and found his body along with drugs paraphernalia nearby, TMZ reported in the initial media coverage of his death.
The HQ statement read: “We learned today of the passing of our friend and founder, Colin Kroll, and it’s with deep sadness that we say goodbye. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.”
The company confirmed Colin Kroll’s age after police had initially said 35.
Alan Kroll, Colin’s father, told the NewYork Times: “He had so much talent and had accomplished so much at such a young age. It truly is a waste.”
Colin Kroll co-founded HQ Trivia with Rus Yusupov, who paid tribute on Twitter: “So sad to hear about thepassing of my friend and co-founder Colin Kroll. My thoughts & prayers goout to his loved ones. I will forever remember him for his kind soul and big heart. He made the world and internet a better place. Rest in peace, brother.”
HQ Trivia was launched in the US in 2017 and Colin Kroll was appointed CEO this September.
The free app live-streams quiz shows, with a pot of money – often thousands
of dollars – available to split between winners.
The quiz show was guest-hosted by some big names, from Jimmy Kimmel to Bert from Sesame Street.
HQ’s popularity faded this year, dropping out of the App Store’s list of top 100 apps.
Colin Kroll was also a co-founder of Vine, a six-second video streaming service that was bought out by Twitter in 2012 for $30 million.
Vine announced in December 2016 that Twitter was discontinuing the mobile app.
Vine, Twitter’s new mobile video-sharing app, has had its age rating increased after it was flooded with explicit videos.
The age limit has been raised from 12+ on Apple’s store to 17+, which is the highest rating.
Vine was launched last month and within days hundreds of explicit videos were uploaded, leading to complaints from angry users.
Twitter was forced to apologize just weeks after the launch when a six-second pornographic clip was promoted as an “editor’s pick”.
The new rating is used for videos with “frequent/ intense sexual content or nudity”.
Vine users are asked to confirm they are over 17 by clicking on a window, but that is the only age verification system in place.
Vine, Twitter’s new mobile video-sharing app, has had its age rating increased after it was flooded with explicit videos
Videos are not vetted before being uploaded but it has been announced that users will be able to block or report items they find offensive.
Vine – dubbed the Instagram for video – is designed to encourage members to share clips recorded on their smartphones.
It extends Twitter’s 140-character ethos to video, with clips limited to just six seconds.
When the explicit video appeared in January, children’s charities said it was an example of how easily children can stumble on pornographic images.
Twitter blamed human error and had the video removed.
A spokesman said at the time: “A human error resulted in a video with adult content becoming one of the videos in Editor’s Picks, and upon realizing this mistake we removed the video immediately.
“We apologize to our users for the error.”
Twitter has also restricted searchable items. Users can no longer get results by searching words such as p***, sex and naked.
Twitter has launched Vine video sharing service, an addition to the social network that allows users to embed six second videos within their tweets.
Vine was used first by Twitter boss Dick Costolo, who posted a clip of himself making steak tartare.
Twitter bought out developer Vine Labs, a start-up based in New York, in October last year.
The program is available as a stand-alone app in the Apple App Store – but not yet on other platforms.
Videos posted on Vine are on an infinite loop – in a manner similar to animated gifs, an image format that has been popular since the very early days of the internet.
“Like Tweets, the brevity of videos on Vine inspires creativity,” wrote Michael Sippey, Twitter’s vice president of product.
Dom Hofmann, co-founder of Vine, said the two companies shared “similar values and goals”.
“Posts on Vine are about abbreviation – the shortened form of something larger.
“They’re little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life.”
They will also be able to follow other Vine users and search for clips from people they know.
Twitter has launched Vine video sharing service, an addition to the social network that allows users to embed six second videos within their tweets
The acquisition could prove to be a shrewd move, one analyst said.
“Video will be the next new front in the battle to add more functionality to social platforms,” said Adrian Drury from research firm Ovum.
“In a way it is surprising that it has taken this long to integrate micro-video blogging,” he added.
“This is Twitter’s first effort and we see it as an early experiment and it will be interesting to see how consumers respond.”
Vine was used first by Twitter boss Dick Costolo, who posted a clip of himself making steak tartare.
Twitter bought out developer Vine Labs, a start-up based in New York, in October last year.
The program is available as a stand-alone app in the Apple App Store – but not yet on other platforms.
Videos posted on Vine are on an infinite loop – in a manner similar to animated gifs, an image format that has been popular since the very early days of the internet.
“Like Tweets, the brevity of videos on Vine inspires creativity,” wrote Michael Sippey, Twitter’s vice president of product.
Dom Hofmann, co-founder of Vine, said the two companies shared “similar values and goals”.
“Posts on Vine are about abbreviation – the shortened form of something larger.
“They’re little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life.”
They will also be able to follow other Vine users and search for clips from people they know.
The acquisition could prove to be a shrewd move, one analyst said.
“Video will be the next new front in the battle to add more functionality to social platforms,” said Adrian Drury from research firm Ovum.
“In a way it is surprising that it has taken this long to integrate micro-video blogging,” he added.
“This is Twitter’s first effort and we see it as an early experiment and it will be interesting to see how consumers respond.”
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