Twitter may seem to have been around forever, but many people over the age of 30 will recall it first appearing in the mid-2000s. You could argue that little has changed in the decade since it was viewed as a platform for inane chat and mindless updates.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey eventually transitioned the service from an SMS-based platform to an online platform, which is where the original 140-character limit came from. Despite the company failing to make a quarterly profit until the end of 2017, its user base grew once it was moved online. It has since stopped disclosing monthly active-user figures, which may indicate a gradual decline.
After five years, the company was worth a thousand times its initial $5 million investment. Though users continue to post jokes and cat videos, the site has become a breeding ground for more arguments than your average reality TV show. Someone is always looking for a fight, and it can be difficult to tell whether it’s a genuine disagreement, random trolling, or state-sponsored sleaze.
The platform was then taken over by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, for $44 billion (£38.1 billion) in October 2022. So far, it hasn’t gone well, especially if you believe Musk’s claims that Twitter is losing $4 million per day – his justification for laying off thousands of employees.
Following Elon Musk’s takeover in 2022, he decided to reinstate Trump’s account based on a user poll. This is presumably due to the number of eyes the former president would bring to the platform, rather than for political reasons. Trump, on the other hand, refused, preferring to stick with Truth Social. His Twitter account is currently inactive.
Here are the few Twitter Alternatives to try if you are planning a shift from Twitter:
Mostodon
Mastodon exploded in popularity after its debut in 2016, promising to be a friendlier social network than what we’re used to. Despite its appearance, this platform is divided into thousands of websites, each serving its own purpose for a dedicated community. The company does not sell user information, it is open-source and decentralised, and each post is limited to 500 characters.
Mastodon grew rapidly in just a few months, from 300k to 2.5m monthly active users, according to a December 2022 report. It’s no coincidence that more people joined as Twitter began to lose users following its ownership change.
Movim
Movim (My Open Virtual Identity Manager) is a free and open-source option that also supports Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP, an open communication protocol). This includes the ability to chat with other XMPP users who do not use Movim.
With the demise of Google+, users flocked to the privacy-focused app instead, which is available on iOS, Android, and desktop devices and has a slew of useful features. It is decentralised and free of advertisements. You can chat with friends, read the latest news, or look for a community to join.
Micro.blog
Micro.blog, while visually similar to Twitter, lacks a few of the flashy features we’ve come to expect from the social media behemoth. While it is still in its early stages, Micro.blog allows you to publish short, tweet-like posts as well as replies, conversations, and a timeline for following your friends. It’s a good enough substitute, and its Discover timeline should give you a good idea of what to expect.
Discord
Discord is extremely popular, with an estimated 150 million active users as of 2021. It’s a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and instant messaging social platform that’s a great place to meet people who share your interests.
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