With another major change to the platform, users are looking for the next Twitter, but where should they go? With the launch of Threads tomorrow, plus the growth of platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky, what’s next?
Following the update to Twitter’s policy reducing the number of posts users could view daily, as well as placing Tweetdeck behind a paywall, people are flocking to other platforms after another obvious blunder from Elon Musk and his team. Whether or not you believe the rumors that this change is due to some payment due to Google or some changes to how the website works that threw things off, the policy is here to stay for the time being. With that being said, where do we go now? Considering Twitter has been around since 2006, a lot of established norms are being changed, so who’s the next Twitter?
For starters, there is big news coming out of Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which is launching its newest platform, Threads, tomorrow. Being built seemingly to take Twitter’s space directly, the new site could make a lot of sense as it pairs with already-established social media we all probably already have.
“Say more with Threads — Instagram’s text-based conversation app,” the official description reads. “Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow. Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things — or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world.”
While Threads makes a ton of sense for a number of reasons, there are other alternatives that are a little less “big corporation” than the size that Meta has achieved.
Mastodon has gained some traction, and people are scrambling for invite codes to Bluesky Social, which features ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on its board of directors, but these platforms are a little cumbersome to join and discover on, hurting the user-friendly nature Twitter has always had. There’s Hive Social or Tumblr or even Reddit, but those have been around a while and have their own sets of issues, including what might be Reddit’s own exodus of users soon.
With a plethora of apps on the market that work as social media, but just aren’t quite what Twitter used to be, one has to wonder if more companies will follow suit with Meta and launch a direct competitor, or if some start-ups will really take on the task of making a suitable replacement. At the end of the day, it’s really unfortunate to see such a devastated platform, and not because of the memes or what’s trending, but for those whose jobs depended on a site that just saw itself implode following a $44 billion buyout just last year.
