TechDigits

Tech news
Thursday, Dec 05, 2024

Meta could rival Twitter as it reveals work is under way on new social network

Meta could rival Twitter as it reveals work is under way on new social network

Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, appears to sense an opportunity to take advantage of the tumultuous nature of Elon Musk's Twitter ownership by launching a new rival.
Meta has revealed it is working on a new social network solely designed for sharing text updates.

The app would appear to be a direct competitor to Twitter, with a company spokesperson confirming it will be a "decentralised" platform similar to other alternatives that grew in popularity after Elon Musk's takeover.

"We're exploring a standalone decentralised social network for sharing text updates," a Meta statement said.

"We believe there's an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests."

The plan was originally reported by Money Control, citing Meta sources, with more details revealed by Platformer.

While the new app is said to be Instagram-branded (Meta owns that platform, plus Facebook and WhatsApp), allowing users to log in with existing accounts, it will operate differently.

It will reportedly support a decentralised social networking protocol called ActivityPub, which is the same one that powers some existing Twitter rivals like Mastodon.

What does decentralised mean?

Platforms that talk about being "decentralised" are hearkening back to an earlier era of the internet, where big tech companies had less of a monopoly over the websites that people used.

Facebook and Twitter, for example, are controlled by a single company - they have total oversight when it comes to content that is allowed on the platform.

But Mastodon, and other Twitter alternatives that rose in prominence last year, are instead made up of many independent communities or servers that live under one umbrella.

These might be run by different individuals or companies, with their own rules and policies.

Former Twitter boss Jack Dorsey, who co-founded the company in 2006, is working on his own such project called Blue Sky, which has been in testing since last year.

Is there demand for a 'new Twitter'?

Sky News analysis revealed surges in interest in Twitter-like platforms late last year, as users concerned with Musk's approach looked into jumping ship.

But the tumultuous takeover hasn't upended people's habits to the extent experts predicted. The rapid rise in Mastodon users, for example, has stalled.

One of the key issues facing upstart Twitter-like firms is that they often don't boast the accessible feature sets and slick visual design that helped make Facebook and Instagram usable by everyone, from your grandma to your kids.

Meta's new platform will likely be built with a mainstream audience in mind, though confidence in the company has taken something of a battering in recent years due to user privacy scandals and criticism of Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse strategy.

Other recent app experiments by the company have not always gone smoothly, with the likes of its video speed-dating service called Sparked and couples-focused social platform Tuned among those to have shut in recent years.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
0:00
0:00
Close
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
Melinda French Gates Advocates for Increased Female Representation in AI to Prevent Bias
Snapchat+ gains 4 million paying subscribers in its first year
Apple Makes History as the First Public Company Valued at $3 Trillion
Elon Musk Implements Twitter Limits to Tackle Data Scraping, but Faces Criticism for Technical Misunderstanding
EU and UK's Slow Electric Vehicle Adoption Raises Questions About the Transition to Green Mobility
Top Companies Express Concerns Over Europe's Proposed AI Law, Citing Competitiveness and Investment Risks
Meta Unveils Insights on AI Usage in Facebook and Instagram, Amid Growing Calls for Transparency
Crypto Scams Against Seniors Soar by 78% in 2022, Experts Urge Vigilance
The End of an Era: National Geographic Dismisses Last of Its Staff Writers
Shield Your Wallet: The Perils of Wireless Credit Card Theft
Harvard Scientist Who Studies Honesty Accused Of Data Fraud, Put On Leave
Putting an End to the Subscription Snare: The Battle Against Unwitting Commitments
The Legal Perils of AI: Lawyer Faces Sanctions for Relying on Fictional Cases Generated by Chatbot
ChatGPT’s "Grandma Exploit": Ingenious Hack Exposes Loophole in AI, Generates Free Software Codes
The Disney Downturn: A Near Billion-Dollar Box Office Blow for the House of Mouse
A Digital Showdown: Canada Challenges Tech Giants with The Online News Act, Meta Strikes Back
Distress in the Depths: Submersible and Passengers Missing in Titanic Wreckage Expedition
Mark Zuckerberg stealing another idea: Twitter
European Union's AI Regulations Risk Self-Sabotage, Cautions smart and brave Venture Capitalist Joe Lonsdale
Nvidia GPUs are so hard to get that rich venture capitalists are buying them for the startups they invest in
Chinese car exports surge
Reddit Blackout: Thousands of Communities Protest "Ludicrous" Pricing Changes
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
×