The ‘Shark Tank’ investor and serial entrepreneur says he stopped advertising on X months ago. The writing was on the wall.
X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, made headlines recently as advertisers have left in droves. Many have blamed the mass exodus on the actions of X’s owner, Elon Musk, along with companies’ unwillingness to be associated with the X brand.
“I spend about 2 million [dollars] a month on social/digital buys with my 40-plus companies,” O’Leary explained. “But nine weeks ago, we stopped investing in Twitter. Only because it wasn’t giving us good CAC, customer acquisition cost numbers, and ROAS, return on advertising spend. So those numbers were the worst of all the platforms.”
He continued, “I would put money to work if they could fix this mess. I don’t know what to say. It’s not working.”
It’s not working.
With those three words, O’Leary sums up why he left advertising on X, and it has nothing to do with Musk or the controversial issues he’s been dealing with. In fact, O’Leary said he’s “agnostic” to the controversial issues, and that his goal is simply to “put money to work where it returns customers.” He also said he has “high hopes for Elon to fix it.”
There’s a deeper lesson to extract here, one that could be valuable not only to X, but also to you and your business. And it has to do, not with X’s advertisers, but with its customers.
The reason behind the reason
It’s important to recognize that O’Leary isn’t the only one to say X isn’t providing enough return on investment.
So, what’s the problem? Why aren’t ads on X providing the return companies like Walmart and those owned by O’Leary are looking for?
Well, it may be a temporary problem. But it’s also important to realize that the X audience and user experience is much different from that offered on other social media platforms.
Since Musk’s takeover of Twitter over a year ago, and the subsequent rebranding to X, the platform has become much darker–literally and figuratively. The logo and branding send emotional signals of “extreme” and “edgy.” Even Grok, the A.I. chatbot that Musk is billing as a direct competitor to ChatGPT and which is already being made available to X Premium Plus subscribers, has gained notoriety for its ability to use vulgar language.
This positioning is much different from that of Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Although those companies have their own problems, they are generally considered “family-friendly” and “mainstream”–at least by their users.
And herein lies the problem: X’s positioning limits the potential audience that mainstream advertisers hope to reach on the platform.
Maybe it’s true that the majority of advertisers who have left X did so because of disalignment with Musk and his company’s policies. But their decision to leave becomes an easy one if their ads are getting better performance on other platforms anyway.
Of course, Musk has repeatedly stated that his goals for Twitter/X are to completely transform the platform. He wants X to be an everything app, where users come not only for conversation and entertainment, but also to do their banking and other financial activities. If he succeeds at creating a new product type that people actually use, the loss of advertising dollars may no longer be so important.
But we’re a long way from that. And if X continues to push users and advertisers away, it’s questionable whether it will survive the interim.
So, what’s the lesson for you as a business owner?
If you’re considering a rebrand of your business, remember that the changes you make will have an emotional impact on your customers. Those decisions will have far-reaching consequences–some intentional, others not. So, take your time to think things through, and make sure the message you’re sending continues to be one that resonates with your target audience.
Of course, it’s very possible Musk anticipated many of these consequences, and he’s willing to live with them. But it appears that many of his company’s advertisers aren’t.
Despite proclamations from X CEO Linda Yaccarino that usage of the social network was at an all-time high this summer, a new report is throwing cold water on those claims, saying that X usage has actually declined on all fronts, across both web and mobile. According to data from market intelligence firm Similarweb, X’s global website traffic was down 14% year-over-year in September, and U.S. traffic was down by 19%. On mobile devices in the U.S., performance had also declined 17.8% year-over-year, based on monthly active users on iOS and Android.
Image Credits: Similarweb
Although the U.S. accounts for roughly a quarter of X’s web traffic, other countries also saw declines in web traffic, including the U.K. (-11.6%), France (-13.4%), Germany (-17.9%) and Australia (-17.5%).
The report notes that September was not just a fluke, either, as declines in usage were visible in long-term trends as well. When comparing the first nine months of 2023 with the same period in 2022, Simiarweb found X’s website traffic was down 11.6% year-over-year in the U.S. and down by 7% worldwide. Mobile app usage in the U.S. was also down by 12.8% during that same period of time.
However, there is one bright spot for X…or rather its owner, Elon Musk. Traffic to Musk’s profile page on the site was up 96% year-over-year as of last month.
Image Credits: Similarweb
The firm’s estimates are determined by machine learning algorithms powered by millions of websites and apps’ first-party analytics, including through its own consumer products that measure device traffic data as well as through partnerships with other companies, including ISPs, other measurement firms and demand-side platforms. Its methodology on mobile devices relies heavily on Android data, however, because of the tighter restrictions Apple places on its App Store and data privacy.
Still, even with a glimpse into Android data, you can get a sense of how well X is faring. On that front, Similarweb notes that X mobile app usage worldwide was down by 14.8% on Android, compared with the -17.8% drop in the U.S. across iOS and Android.
The report also indicates that X’s declines are part of a broader shift, as web traffic to the top 100 social networks and online communities the firm tracks were also down by 3.7% in September, save TikTok, which grew 22.8% on a global basis. Facebook web traffic, for example, was down 10.4%.
Image Credits: Similarweb
Image Credits: Similarweb
On mobile, the same trend was true, but X’s monthly active users declined by 17.8% in September, compared with Facebook and Instagram, down by 8% and 3.7%, respectively.
Image Credits: Similarweb
In addition, Similarweb’s analysis touches on the declining importance of X in the news ecosystem, noting that three years ago, The New York Times would receive 3-4% of its traffic from Twitter, but that’s now down to less than 1%. Of course, X began throttling links to the Times in August, along with other competitors like Bluesky and Threads. This week, X was accused of throttling Patreon links as well.
But in reality, Twitter’s importance to news publishers has always been overstated. News may have broken on Twitter but it was never a significant traffic source. In fact, NPR left the platform six months ago after Musk began labeling it and other outlets as “state-affiliated media.” A recent report from Nieman indicates NPR’s loss of traffic from leaving X has been “negligible” — traffic only dropped by a single percentage point, where it used to account for just under 2% of overall traffic.
Though the report doesn’t include much good news for X, it did admit that the app seems to have staying power.
“…somehow the X / Twitter audience has eroded but not evaporated,” wrote Similarweb’s Senior Insights Manager David Carr.
That’s worth noting, given the increased competition from new competitors like Bluesky, Post, Pebble, Spill, Mastodon and Threads.
X would likely dispute Similarweb’s findings, as its execs have only touted traffic increases, not declines. The company recently told TechCrunch that X sees 500 million posts per day, including original content, replies and reposts, and noted that X generates 100 billion impressions per day. Yaccarino also shared other figures at an event in October, noting that people are spending 14% more time on X, with a 20% increase in consuming video, and that 1.5 million sign up for X daily, up 4% year-over-year.
If you have a large enough following, companies will pay you to tweet about their products. To make money in this way, it’s helpful to have not only a large following, but one that is specific to a type of product. For example, if you tweet about parenting young children, you may be able to post sponsored tweets about baby products or toys.
Most companies use an agency to find influencers to post sponsored tweets about their products. The agency gets a cut of the money, but it’s a lot more efficient than trying to find companies on your own. Try SponsoredTweets.com or Collective Voice, or just Google “social media influencer agency.” You can sign up with more than one agency, which will increase your chances of getting selected by a brand to post sponsored tweets.
To use ChatGPT to create your sponsored tweets, the first thing you need to do is to verify that you can do this. There should be a stipulation in the influencer contract that indicates whether the company allows AI-generated content. If it’s not mentioned in the contract, ask. It’s not worth saving a few minutes of time by having AI generate your content if it means you get fired from a lucrative contract.
Once you’ve determined that the brand will accept AI-generated content, all you need to do is write a prompt asking for copy that talks about the product in your voice. You can include word or character counts if that’s a requirement for the sponsored tweet. Check the tweet to make sure that it’s accurate and you like it, and you’re good to go.
Affiliate Marketing
Companies use affiliate marketing to broaden their reach so they can get their message out to more consumers. If you have a lot of followers on Twitter (now X) you can sell other company’s products by promoting them on your feed. For every order the company gets through your tweets, they’ll pay you.
This arrangement requires that you choose a product or products to sell on Twitter, and every time a sale is made through one of your posts, you get a commission. To find products to sell, sign up for an affiliate marketplace like JVZoo or ClickBank. Then you can browse the available products and choose which one(s) you want to promote.
You can then use ChatGPT or another AI tool to create your posts. As with anything that you’re doing with AI, the key is to compose the prompt correctly. You want to be sure that your post sounds natural — like it’s actually coming from you — and that it represents the product accurately. You may have to try a few times to get it right.
Blogging
Successful bloggers know that it’s all about the volume of content — the more you can post, the more money you can earn. But writing all those posts yourself takes time. You can use ChatGPT to create blog posts much more quickly than you could write them yourself. You can ask ChatGPT to create a blog post and you can even ask for the post to be in your style or voice.
As a hypothetical example: If Chris Smith has a blog called “Cooking with Chris,” Smith could prompt ChatGPT to “write a blog post with instructions on how to bake sugar cookies from scratch in the style of Chris Smith of Cooking with Chris.” Plugins such as VoxScript allow ChatGPT to browse the internet to familiarize the model with Chris’ previous work, or several blogs can be fed to the AI manually to form a basis. Then, all Chris needs to do is verify that the recipe is accurate (trying it would be a good idea) and then post it.
E-Books
ChatGPT can help with writing e-books as well. When using AI to generate an e-book, it’s best to start with an outline. Determine the number of chapters or sections you want your e-book to have, and what each chapter or section should cover. You can write a detailed prompt for the entire e-book at once or break it up and do one section or chapter at a time. It is likely, due to current constraints, that several pieces will have be done separately and then assembled later down the line.
Be sure to review the copy carefully to make sure it flows properly and isn’t redundant, particularly if you’re using different prompts for each section. Once the copy is generated, you can write another prompt for an introduction and conclusion.
Promoting your e-book on Twitter requires that you have a following, of course, and that you are recognized as an authority in the subject you’re writing about. If that’s the case, you can use ChatGPT to write a post advertising your e-book and start selling!
All of these ways to make money on Twitter with ChatGPT come with the same caveat: any artificial intelligence tool is a data gathering tool. It’s up to you, as the owner of the Twitter account, to ensure that the content you are posting is accurate and doesn’t violate any of Twitter’s rules. Most importantly, it has to be content that you stand behind. Checking the sources is imperative, because you can lose your hard-earned credibility quickly by posting something without verifying the validity of information
Is Elon laughing? Reports say Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘Twitter-killer’ just suffered a stunning 50% collapse in daily active users after white-hot start — but here’s why Musk should still worry
Threads seems to be unravelling — for now.
After a record-breaking launch, Mark Zuckerberg’s new app Threads has seen the numbers wane — significantly. Threads attracted over 100 million users within five days of its launch, demolishing ChatGPT’s record of fastest-growing consumer app and earning it the nickname “Twitter killer.”
However, recent data from industry sources suggest many of these users haven’t stayed active on the platform since the white-hot launch.
Engagement settles lower
Active users on the new app declined by 50% from 49 million on July 7th to 23.6 million on July 14th, according to a new report by SimilarWeb. That means only a quarter of the platform comes back to check and interact on the app every day. Even Mark Zuckerberg admitted that the number of people returning to the app is in the “tens of millions.”
This means that the so-called “Twitter killer” still has plenty of work ahead of itself. Twitter is a private company that doesn’t release these numbers publicly, but the latest figures from the company’s last earnings report suggest the daily active user base stood at roughly 238 million. According to Elon Musk, that number has surged to 259.4 million recently.
Effectively, Threads has only 10% of the daily active users of its biggest rival. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean Musk will get the last laugh.
Why Twitter should be worried
There is evidence to suggest that rivals like Threads are seeping users and engagement from the legacy social app. Web traffic to Twitter was down 5% within the first two days of Threads being launched, according to data from SimilarWeb. Although this has recovered a little since then, traffic is still 11% lower year-over-year.
The fact that a rival app captured 10% of the user base within weeks should also be a concern. Zuckerberg has a track record of successfully scaling social media platforms — Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp each boasts billions of daily active users.
Elon Musk recently admitted that Twitter’s revenue had dropped 50% while the company was cash flow negative due to a “heavy debt load.” Musk’s decision to scale back content moderation may have scared off advertisers, according to a Bloomberg report. Researchers have seen a significant uptick in hate speech and violent content on the site in recent months.
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban mocked Musk on Twitter by saying “Go red, no bread,” while retweeting Musk’s announcement about revenue declines.
Cuban has been a vocal critic of Musk’s policies ever since he took over the social media brand last year.
“Who he supports or denigrates is the Twitter equivalent of State intervention. He owns the platform, he can do what he chooses,” he said in a tweet earlier this year. “But it’s disingenuous to say Twitter is the home of free speech when he chooses to often put his thumb on the scale of reach.”
Cuban is an active user of both Threads and Twitter
Vishesh Raisinghani is a freelance contributor at MoneyWise. He has been writing about financial markets and economics since 2014 – having covered family offices, private equity, real estate, cryptocurrencies, and tech stocks over that period. His work has appeared in Seeking Alpha, Motley Fool Canada, Motley Fool UK, Mergers & Acquisitions, National Post, Financial Post, and Yahoo Canada.
Companies — including Ben & Jerry’s — are interested in advertising on platforms with high value and “low tumult,” according to Emburse. And since Musk acquired the platform and loosened up content moderation, gutting the teams previously responsible for that task, the platform has been tumultuous. And, according to many users and some researchers, more hateful than ever.
Despite this, Twitter said Tuesday that hate speech has dropped significantly on the platform, adding that “99% of content users and advertisers see on Twitter is healthy.”
The reach of the hate speech that does exist on Twitter, the platform said, continues to be limited, representing an “extremely small fraction of the overall conversation.”
The Bird app partnered with Sprinklr in March in an effort to measure hate speech on the platform; in May, according to Sprinklr’s models, the average daily reach of English-language hate speech impressions was .003% between Jan. and May 2023.
“We estimate hate speech impressions are 30% lower on average vs. pre-acquisition,” Twitter said.
Twitter’s new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, went further, attempting — in a lengthy tweet — to disprove a recent Bloomberg article that highlighted the rise in hate speech on Twitter as the most significant thing keeping advertisers from returning to the platform.
Users, including U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have remained skeptical of Twitter’s claims, with some calling for greater transparency, specifically in terms of how Sprinklr’s AI model defines “hate speech.”
“I have never experienced more harassment on this platform than I do now,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “People now pay to give their harassment more visibility.”
One user explained that his timeline used to consist of movies, news and people he followed. Now, the Twitter algorithm recommends “misogynistic, sexist, racist, homophobic and inflammatory tweets from Republicans.”
As of February, more than half of Twitter’s top 1,000 advertisers have abandoned the platform. Advertisers, according to several advertising executives that Vox spoke to at the time, are concerned with tarnishing their brand reputation by placing ads on a platform that allows hateful and offensive content.
Ian Krietzberg is a breaking/trending news writer for The Street with a focus on artificial intelligence and the markets. He covers AI companies, safety and ethics extensively. As an offshoot of his tech beat, Ian also covers Elon Musk and his many companies, namely SpaceX and Tesla.
Elon Musk didn’t seem shaken by actor James Woods’ threat to stop using X if the social media platform moves ahead with a plan to eliminate a feature that lets users block others. “Then delete your account,” the billionaire tweeted.
The brusque reply, which the X owner posted to the site on Sunday, came after Woods, a one-time Musk supporter, vowed to leave the platform (formerly known as Twitter) if Musk stripped users’ ability to bar certain accounts from viewing and interacting with their posts.
“In the midst of a libel suit I was targeted by thirty trolls the defendant enlisted to harass me,” Woods said in a post last week when the news came out. “If [Musk removes X’s blocking feature], I will have no choice but to retire from this site.”
Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, announced in a post last Friday that X would end users’ ability to limit their interactions with certain accounts except for direct messages, adding in a later post that the block feature “makes no sense” for the platform.
The planned change caused an uproar among some users, some of whom have also vowed to leave X if the feature is removed.
“I will absolutely delete my account and leave this app if X attempts to even *test* this policy, wrote one user. “It’s absolutely sick and disgusting.”
“As a female climate scientist, blocking is the only thing that makes my engagement here on Twitter/X possible,” another user said.
It remains unclear if or when X might remove its blocking button. If the change goes into effect, X could be removed from the Google Play and Apple app stores, potentially deepening the social media platform’s financial troubles. Both digital storefronts require apps involving user-generated content to offer a blocking feature.
X responded to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment with an email saying, “We’ll get back to you soon.”
Boosting free speech — or revenue?
In another post, Woods challenged interpretations of X’s policy change as a step toward promoting free speech on the site, speculating that the decision had more to do with boosting the site’s ad revenue.
“Users of X are mere pawns to turn the site into an electronic shopping mall,” Woods said in a post on Saturday. “The man I thought was a defender of free speech is just another greedy capitalist.”
Thank you. If @elonmusk removes the ability to block concerted harassment by trolls or organized political entities, how will “X” be any different from Jack Dorsey’s horrid Twitter?
Musk, whom I once championed, is only doing this to protect his advertisers anyway. Users of X… https://t.co/bR3oMU4f2P
Last month, Musk revealed the social media company’s advertising revenue had plunged roughly 50%. X also faces competition from alternative blogging platforms like Meta-backed Threads and Bluesky.
Musk’s revamped X network ushers in X Pro, formerly known as TweetDeck, behind its verified Twitter Blue tier.
The Gist
Transforming TweetDeck. Now a subscriber-only product called X Pro.
Pay to play. Users must be Twitter Blue verified.
X Pro view. Control multiple timeline columns in one interface.
In a move that could reshape the digital marketing landscape, Elon Musk’s revamped social network, X (previously Twitter), has unveiled its rebranded social media dashboard: X Pro, the successor to the well-loved TweetDeck. Long serving as the go-to platform for marketers juggling multiple brand and client accounts, X Pro is now ensconced behind a paywall, accessible exclusively to verified users of the platform.
The shift to a subscription model comes with its own set of perks, but at a price. Joining the “Twitter Blue” tier will set users back $8 monthly or $84 annually. In return, subscribers gain the coveted blue check mark, the power to edit tweets and a streamlined experience with prioritized rankings in conversations, searches and notably fewer ads.
For marketers, however, the key question remains: Will the benefits of X Pro justify its cost, or will they be forced to re-evaluate their social media management strategies?
From TweetDeck to X Pro: Will Marketers Embrace the Evolution?
TweetDeck served for years as a valuable tool for many marketers, with multiple account management capabilities, real-time monitoring and scheduled tweets — the collaborative platform also provided customizable columns to track specific hashtags, mentions, lists, keywords and the ability to perform competitor analysis.
Originally an independent app from 2009-2011, TweetDeck Ltd. was subsequently acquired by Twitter Inc. and integrated into Twitter’s interface, soon becoming one of the platforms’ most popular features — especially among marketers.
But the question remains, with the rebrand to X Pro, will the latest incarnation offer marketers even more?
What Can X Pro Offer Marketers?
In July, the company unveiled plans for a “new, improved version of TweetDeck.” However, they noted that access would be granted only to verified users, who were given a 30-day notice to secure their verification.
Mainly viewed as a name rebrand (as well as a new revenue source), the current features offered by TweetDeck are expected to remain with X Pro.
Among X Pro’s currently known features and facts:
All users will be able to continue to access their saved searches and workflows.
All saved searches, lists and columns will carry over and users will be prompted to import their columns when the application is loaded for the first time.
The platform supports full composer functionality, including Spaces, video docking, polls and more.
Teams functionality is temporarily unavailable but will be restored in the coming weeks.
And while X Pro is now offered as a paid service through Twitter Blue, verification does come with some perks. The subscription offers users a suite of enhanced capabilities, including sharing extended videos, the freedom to edit tweets within a 30-minute window, the option to retract tweets before they’re seen by others, the use of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) for profile imagery, and entry to the Spaces Tab, a hub for audio content.
As the digital world continually evolves, so do the tools that marketers rely on. X Pro’s transformation from the iconic TweetDeck signifies not just a name change, but a paradigm shift in how digital marketing tools are packaged and priced. While it brings a fusion of old (and possibly new) features, it’s evident that its success hinges on its value proposition to its core users — the marketers. As the dust settles on this transition, the digital marketing community waits with bated breath, poised to decide if X Pro is indeed the next frontier or a nostalgic nod to an era gone by.
Jennifer Torres, is a Florida-based journalist with more than two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics. Currently, Jennifer is a staff reporter at CMSWire, where she tackles subjects ranging from artificial intelligence and customer service & support to customer experience and user experience design. Jennifer is also the esteemed author of a collection of 10 mystery and suspense novels, and has formerly held the position of marketing officer at the prestigious Florida Institute of Technology. Connect with Jennifer Torres: X
Because Meta owns Facebook and Instagram, these destinations have been able to grow their audiences quickly. Users login to Threads with their Instagram accounts and automatically follow the same people they follow on Instagram.
“We’re at about 10,000 right now. I would say a good 80% of that happened over the weekend,” said Paula Port, Destination Toronto‘s vice president of marketing. Visit Orlando has over 32,000 followers.
Instagram has over 1 billion monthly users worldwide, according to Insider Intelligence.
So far, posting activity on Threads by these groups is uneven. Some haven’t posted anything while others like Visit Orlando have been posting daily.
Threads doesn’t offer advertising at the moment, according to the Wall Street Journal. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok are the top spenders on social media advertising.
Destinations have been devoting fewer resources to Twitter. A new problem for Twitter has been the new blue check verification process, which requires a subscription. “We just kind of gone back and forth on what’s the value that we’re seeing there and it seems very unpredictable,” said Utah Office of Tourism Director of Marketing and Communication Ben Cook.
Destinations haven’t developed a strategy for marketing on Threads. Destination Toronto hasn’t posted much and is reusing the text-based strategy and repurposing content it uses for Twitter. Utah is experimenting with a more humorous voice.
“There is not a huge lift and we’re not going to put a lot of time into developing a huge strategy until we just sort of see where it goes,” said Cook. Audience engagement on the platform looks good so far, he said.
What strategies destinations come up with for Threads depends on the platform’s evolution.
“It feels like it wants to be Twitter, but everyone from Instagram is there,” Port said. “Is Threads going to reduce our need for that news-driven content or is it going to be more like Instagram, which is more curated and has more of a visual aesthetic?”
Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, the digital platform formerly known as Twitter, told employees they are “writing history” with the stunning overhaul of the well-established brand.
In an email to employees obtained by Deadline (subject line: “X: Our Next Big Impression”), Yaccarino said Twitter “made a lasting imprint on the world” during its 17-year run. In rebranding it as X and ditching the blue bird logo, part of a move to explore new business areas like banking, payments and video, the company will “go even further to transform the global town square — and impress the world all over again,” the former NBCUniversal exec said. She went on to urge them, “Please don’t take this moment for granted. You’re writing history, and there’s no limit to our transformation.”
Yaccarino went on to declare, “Our company uniquely has the drive to make this possible. Many companies say they want to move fast — but we enjoy moving at the speed of light, and when we do, that’s X. At our core, we have an inventor mindset — constantly learning, testing out new approaches, changing to get it right and ultimately succeeding.”
Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion last fall and positioned it as the centrepiece of a company called X Corp., which he runs along with Tesla and SpaceX. He has since made a series of dramatic moves, laying off thousands of employees, restoring access to a number of users banned under prior content policies and imposing a paid verification system that will factor prominently into the evolution of X. Yaccarino, an ad sales veteran, joined as CEO in June and is working to persuade advertisers who have paused spending or pulled out altogether that the platform can once again be a safe and effective place for their ad dollars.
The internal memo was a somewhat more focused version of a series of tweets (Xs?) Yaccarino had posted earlier, drawing side-eyes and scepticism on the company’s own platform. “X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – cantered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities,” she wrote. “Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.”
As workers in San Francisco began prying the “Twitter” letters off the side of the corporate headquarters and preparing the white-on-black replacement, reactions circulated on the platform. For now, it still has its long-time domain name and interface, though the bird logo has been replaced by an “X,” and users seemed suspicious of the plan. ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes quote-tweeted Yaccarino: “Enjoyable to imagine Kendall Roy saying this to investors.” (Comedian and Twitch gamer Andy Cortez obliged by reading the tweet as Kendall Roy (with a few expletives thrown in). Eric Idle proposed, “Perhaps it should be called Twatter after the owner?”
Tech media personality Kara Swisher was among those replying directly to Yaccarino: “Sounds dandy, but big issue here is that you must deliver. So far under Elon regime” and completing the thought with a GIF of a worker throwing shipping boxes at a conveyor belt.
Here’s Yaccarino’s full memo:
Hi team,
What a momentous weekend. As I said yesterday, it’s extremely rare, whether it’s in life or in business, that you have the opportunity to make another big impression. That’s what we’re experiencing together, in real time. Take a moment to put it all into perspective.
17 years ago, Twitter made a lasting imprint on the world. The platform changed the speed at which people accessed information. It created a new dynamic for how people communicated, debated, and responded to things happening in the world. Twitter introduced a new way for people, public figures, and brands to build long lasting relationships. In one way or another, everyone here is a driving force in that change. But equally all our users and partners constantly challenged us to dream bigger, to innovate faster, and to fulfil our great potential.
With X we will go even further to transform the global town square — and impress the world all over again.
Our company uniquely has the drive to make this possible. Many companies say they want to move fast — but we enjoy moving at the speed of light, and when we do, that’s X. At our core, we have an inventor mindset — constantly learning, testing out new approaches, changing to get it right and ultimately succeeding.
With X, we serve our entire community of users and customers by working tirelessly to preserve free expression and choice, create limitless interactivity, and create a marketplace that enables the economic success of all its participants.
The best news is we’re well underway. Everyone should be proud of the pace of innovation over the last nine months — from long form content, to creator monetization, and tremendous advancements in brand safety protections. Our usage is at an all time high and we’ll continue to delight our entire community with new experiences in audio, video, messaging, payments, banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities.
Please don’t take this moment for granted. You’re writing history, and there’s no limit to our transformation. And everyone, is invited to build X with us.
Elon and I will be working across every team and partner to bring X to the world. That includes keeping our entire community up to date, ensuring that we all have the information we need to move forward.
Now, let’s go make that next big impression on the world, together.
Linda
Feature Image Credit: Linda YaccarinoGetty/Courtesy
In this article, we dive into five apps that are similar to Twitter and share what you need to know about each one.
Ever since Twitter’s ownership changed in late 2022, several apps have sprung up offering to be alternatives with varying degrees of popularity. Some are so recent they’re not even at the beta testing stage yet.
It may be overwhelming trying to navigate the list, but thankfully, I’ve been keeping up with them and have noted five that you may want to keep your eye on. In this article, we’ll dive into these apps, what you need to know about each one, and share some advice for your potential future on these new platforms.
Mastodon
Starting with one most of us are familiar with; Mastodon saw an uptick in users when the Twitter takeover began and has been touted as the most likely platform for users to gravitate towards.
Mastodon reports over 1.3million monthly active users as of June 2023
Mastodon is a decentralized network that allows users to create accounts in distinct communities while being able to access others. It’s based on an open-source, “federated” concept, where different servers use the same protocol to speak to each other and share content to one feed.
These servers (also known as instances) allow users to create communities through Mastodon without building the whole infrastructure from scratch. Server operators oversee the users’ activity registered and hosted on their respective servers.
Key Features
Users can choose the network they want to sign up on, and options abound with nearly 10,000 active communities. The default network for new users at signup is “mastodon.social”, but you can choose whichever you want.
There are no ads or plans to incorporate ads into Mastodon. Its founder has stated that he doesn’t mind if users publish ads on their servers but would do so at their own risk.
When you create an account on one server, you can still see and interact with the activity on other servers on your Feed.
Users can make up to 500 character-long posts and share images, videos, and links.
The C.IM homepage
Some Use Cases
If you target highly specific audiences and communities, there’s a Mastodon server for you.
By creating an instance for yourself or your brand, you can make a personalized feed with all the content you want to serve your audience and conversations you want to have with them while reaching a wider audience.
Find the Mastodon version of your favorite accounts from Twitter – many people and brands that moved over cross-post their content to both platforms.
Focus on thought leadership by starting and contributing to conversations without worrying about selling something or needing great visuals since that’s not the platform’s focus.
In January 2023, rumours began that Meta had started coding a “Twitter competitor,” and in May, the rumours were confirmed through a leak.
Sneak peek at the UI of Instagram’s new app. Source: ICYMI newsletter
Currently referred to internally as Project 92, the platform has been referred to as Meta’s answer to Twitter and will be integrated with users’ Instagram information. According to The Verge, “The app will use Instagram’s account system to automatically populate a user’s information.” It’s also rumoured that the app’s public name might be Threads.
Meta’s chief product officer Chris Cox reportedly shared with employees that the company’s goal for the app was “safety, ease of use, reliability” and making sure that creators have a “stable place to build and grow their audiences.”
There isn’t much out officially about the app, but according to Lia Haberman’s ICYMI newsletter, it could be out as early as July 2023. Some other details she shared in her newsletter are:
It’s built on the back of Instagram, so you can sign in with your username and password, sync your follower list and even keep your handle, bio and verification status
Users on other apps will be able to search for, follow and interact with your profile and content (so it’s likely a decentralized app built on the ActivityPub protocol)
You’ll have multiple options to create content: text updates of about 500 characters, links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes
Sharing will remain standard with likes, replies, and reposts.
You’ll be able to control replies and mentions and easily block or report spam. Also, your blocked accounts and hidden words on Instagram will carry over
Finally, community guidelines will remain the same as on Instagram
The newsletter also shares that there are no current monetization plans, implying that there won’t be ads and the focus will be on organic content.
Available on: Nothing yet
Bluesky
Of all the apps on this list, Bluesky is second in popularity only to Mastodon, as the app has seen increasing hype, in part thanks to its Twitter co-founder and former CEO, Jack Dorsey, co-sign. The app has around 50,000 registered users but has reportedly been downloaded more than 375,000 times.
How different parts of Bluesky look
Bluesky is a decentralized social network, much like Mastodon, that allows its users to share short text updates through different providers instead of a huge central one. The default provider is bsky.social, where I’ve created my account. However, users can set their domain name as their Bluesky username while accessing the platform (instead of tami.bsky.social, I could be tami.buffer.com).
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We have a few teammates in Bluesky, so leave a comment if you’d like an invite code and I’ll share it with the first commenter!
Key Features
Users can create posts of up to 300 characters and add images and links.
Bluesky allows its users to choose and even create their own algorithms called “Feeds.” This means you can decide which type of content shows up on your feed. Some available options are: What’s Hot, which shows all the trending content on the app; Blacksky, which shows posts from the Black users of Bluesky, among many others.
Moderation is taken quite seriously, with users allowed to filter content, mute lists, block accounts, and more updates in development.
Some of the available custom Bluesky Feeds
Some Use Cases
Create an algorithm that shows you and your community content from your account and other related news. If I had the technical prowess, I would create a “Creator Economy” or “Social Media Updates” feed. Flipboard has created curated Feeds for different categories.
Some of Flipboard’s Bluesky Feeds
You can set and manage your account from a custom domain – see instructions here – which can help with verification. It could also create cohesion for everyone that works with or collaborates with your brand
Available on: Web (in progress) | iOS | Android
Post News
True to its name, Post News is a “social platform built for news,” according to its tagline. The main idea behind the platform is to replace the specific function of “trusted news source” that Twitter lost, along with the changes to how verification works.
How different parts of Post look
Since its public launch in February, Post has welcomed over 440,000 users ranging from journalists, subject matter experts, and academics, and more than 30 premium publishers.
Despite serving a similar function to Twitter, Post aims to “develop a platform where publishers can generate revenue from micropayments — that is, where users pay some small amount of money to read individual news items,” according to TechCrunch.
Essentially, the platform seeks to aggregate every news platform that might put a paywall and let users choose when to pay for each news item they want to read instead of paying multiple subscriptions.
Key Features
Post allows users to write articles of any length, as well as like, repost and reply
Users pay with “points” to read articles which range in cost from 1-50 points
You’re gifted 50 points at sign-up, after which you have to buy a bundle from Post’s micropayments platform. One point costs $0.01 and you can buy a bundle of 300 ($4.20) to 10,000 points ($126.70).
Post gets a percentage of each sale of points bundles.
Users can also choose to tip creators and publishers on the platform.
Some Use Cases
If you already share paywalled content through your newsletter or Patreon, for example, Post could be a great way to send updates to your existing and new audience (if it’s a relevant platform) while also being able to keep monetizing your content.
Thanks to the lack of a character limit, you can post entire articles on the platform so people don’t have to click out, but your content still gets in front of the right audience.
Available on: Web | iOS | Android (coming soon)
T2 Social
T2 Social, founded by Gabor Cselle and Sarah Oh, is the closest platform to Twitter in terms of its user interface, the style of posts, and the general vibe on the platform. This can probably be attributed to Sarah Oh’s experience as Human Rights Advisor at Twitter.
The T2 Social homepage
The platform has one of the smaller user bases on this list, reporting 7,500 users in an email update as of June 2023.
Key Features
Write short posts of no more than 280 characters, add a photo, post replies, and repost or like content.
You can connect to your Twitter account to your T2.
You can link and display your Twitter in T2
Users who are legacy checkmark holders on Twitter can claim their T2 checkmark by filling out a form. Others have to schedule an interview with Sarah and availability is limited – you can only get one as soon as August. I’ll let you know how mine goes!
There’s no clear “algorithm” yet – I get served content across different verticals and in different languages (Japanese is a constant on my feed). This is probably because I just joined, so my interests haven’t fully registered yet.
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I have access to T2, so leave a comment if you’d like an invite code, and I’ll share it with the first commenter!
Some Use Cases
If you’re looking for a centralized, clear alternative to Twitter with a simple interface, this is the platform for you
The T2 audience is small, so engagement is high and it’s easy to grow a following and connect with like-minded folks with a bit of consistency
Available on: Web | Desktop
Spill
Another entry from ex-Twitter employees, Spill is a social platform launched more recently than any other platform on this list. However, it’s the most different from Twitter, as it’s visual-first, putting it closer to Tumblr in look and feel.
A look at Spill’s user interface and features. Source: TechCrunch
When you open the app, you land on a feed that includes recent posts from people you’re “sipping” (the platform’s version of following, taken from the Kermit the frog meme) and algorithmically served posts. From there, you can pull down a top menu showing trending posts and hashtags. From the bottom menu, users can post text, gifs, videos, photos, links and polls.
Spill stands out from other platforms, including the ones on this list and its CEO’s former company, as a platform that immediately prioritizes diverse communities. CEO Alphonso Terell shared with TechCrunch that the driving ethos behind Spill is that “building for underserved culture drivers would create a superior platform for all.”
Spill is still in beta and is invite-only, so I’ll have to report back with my observations once I’ve been given access. Till then, some key things to know about Spill are:
Like Twitter, Spill will have a live news feed where users can post “spills” (the platform’s version of posts, taken from the phrase “spill the tea” popularized by Black creators).
It’s getting its own large language learning model for better content moderation that will reportedly understand Black dialects like AAVE.
The platform also plans to add blockchain-based creator features in order to reward users who originate viral trends.
It gives users a “rep score” to incentivize good behaviour and create a system for rewarding active users regardless of their audience size.
The platform is building a feature called “tea parties,” where users can host both online and offline events and then get in-app bonuses to apply to things like boosting their posts without having to pay.
Available on: iOS (beta)
The future of social media might be decentralized
A common theme across the apps on this list is the focus on decentralization. Users have become increasingly wary of big tech companies and their goals. Worries around data privacy and content moderation are driving user behaviour to platforms where they have more control.
Most of these apps have adopted open-source protocols to improve interconnectedness and allow users to control where they settle on the Internet and how they communicate. Mastodon and Meta’s secret project are all built with ActivityPub (which powers the “Fediverse”), while Post intends to adopt it eventually. Meanwhile, Bluesky is built on the ATProtocol, a social networking technology created by the team.
This push towards decentralization means two things for creators (including businesses) and users. One, watching the developments in these apps and technologies is important to understand them better. And two, you must take the time to try them out where you can, especially if users are gravitating towards them.
The more practice you have with using decentralized social networks, the better prepared you are for whatever changes are to come for how we communicate online.
